A public opinion poll published yesterday found that the majority of respondents were concerned that Taiwan’s fiscal problems could lead the nation to face an economic crisis similar to Greece’s and felt pessimistic about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pension reforms.
Asked if they were concerned that the nation’s debt crisis could turn it into another Greece, 70.7 percent of the respondents said yes, a survey conducted by the Taiwan Thinktank from Wednesday to Friday showed.
In addition, 72.9 percent of those polled said the holding of a national affairs conference, as proposed by the opposition parties, was necessary to address the gravity of the fiscal issues.
Photo: CNA
Only 24.6 percent of the respondents said they were not worried about possible “Hellenization,” said Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), convener of the think tank’s survey team, at a press conference yesterday.
The survey also found that 67.6 percent of those questioned had no confidence in Ma’s pledge to submit a complete plan on pension reform in January that would improve the nation’s finances, compared with 18.2 percent who said they felt confident about the promise.
The average age of retirement among the survey’s participants was 58.5 years and the average expected monthly pension for an affordable retirement life was NT$28,602.
Ma’s disapproval rating was at its lowest — 70.5 percent — since the thinktank began to conduct the monthly surveys in March, the poll showed, despite his approval rating of 21.1 percent being slightly up from last month’s 19.3 percent.
The poll also showed that most people did not oppose Ma’s “bumbler” tag, given by UK-based weekly magazine The Economist recently and which led to much controversy.
Asked about the article and the term “bumbler” — whose translation was the subject of debate in local media — 57.1 of the respondents said it meant Ma was “indecisive,” 18.3 percent said it mean the president was “stupid” and 7.2 percent said it meant both.
Most of those polled — 74.9 percent — did agree on one thing: The report has seriously damaged Taiwan’s international image.
On the elections in special municipalities, cities and counties in 2014, the poll found that 33.9 percent of respondents supported the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), while 22.6 percent were for the Chinese Nationalist Party and 43.5 percent were undecided.
The DPP’s increased exchanges with Beijing were approved by 57.1 percent of survey participants, while 23.4 percent disapproved.
While most of those surveyed agreed with the party’s drive to better understand China and 67.2 percent said they were aware of the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Party Congress, the poll found that 63 percent either did not know who Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) was, or could not name his position.
The poll collected 1,072 samples and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
RSS