A government poll released on Tuesday put President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval rating for his performance over the past three months at 47 percent.
The poll, conducted by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission last Thursday and Friday with 1,094 valid samples, found that 36.3 percent of respondents were displeased with Ma’s performance.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) received an approval rating of 41.9 percent and a disapproval rating of 37.9 percent for the same period.
Forty-four percent of respondents were pleased with the Cabinet’s overall performance, while 39.6 percent expressed dissatisfaction.
On the Cabinet’s future performance, 57.4 percent said they were optimistic and 13.9 percent indicated they were not.
The poll found that 55 percent thought the Cabinet was doing a better job than two months ago, while 28 percent disagreed.
In addition, 52.5 percent of respondents were optimistic about Liu’s performance in the months ahead, while 13.6 percent were pessimistic.
Areas of dissatisfaction included the administration’s policies on commodity prices, social security and education reform.
In response, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Department of Culture and Information Director Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said that the Cabinet had released the survey to combat claims that its performance has been unsatisfactory.
He said that the high satisfaction rates in the survey were at odds with those conducted by the media and academic institutions.
Cheng said the government used the survey to cover the fact that the nation is facing a recession and surging inflation.
Hsiao Chuan-cheng (蕭全政), a political science professor at National Taiwan University, said the poll did not represent a dramatic change in the government’s approval ratings.
Hsiao said a poll conducted by the DPP two months ago found that Ma’s approval rating had plummeted to 37.1 percent, with his disapproval rating at 56.7 percent at a time when the public was unhappy about surging prices and the government’s ineffective response to damage caused by flooding.
Hsiao said the new government poll reflected the public’s approval of lower oil prices and the government’s efforts to strengthen its typhoon response measures.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
RSS