A new poll on next year’s presidential election has Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) ahead against five potential Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) contenders.
The results of the poll conducted by the Taiwan Thinktank were released yesterday at a news conference in Taipei and show that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) would be the strongest opponent, given his support rating was just 3 percent less than Tsai’s.
Tsai received much more support if judged against Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and former department of health head Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) — who have registered for the KMT presidential primary — the poll found, with Tsai backed by 63.6 percent of respondents when compared to Hung, who was backed by 21.5 percent, and supported by 63.4 percent if up against Yuang, who was favored by 17.5 percent.
When polled against Wang, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) — none of whom have entered the KMT primary, but are still seen as possible “recruits” — Tsai beat Wang by 44.1 percent to 41.3 percent, Chu by 46.7 percent to 41 percent and Wu by 64.1 percent to 20.2 percent, the poll showed.
The think tank said that Wang, in a poll that pitted the five KMT members against each other, was backed by 38.2 percent of respondents, followed by Chu with 29 percent, while Wu attracted 6.2 percent support, Yaung 6 percent and Hung 5.4 percent.
Think tank deputy chief executive Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) said that Wang and Chu would be the strongest KMT candidates.
Conducted on Saturday last week, the poll surveyed people aged 20 or older and collected 1,079 valid samples, with a 95 percent confidence level and a marginal error of plus or minus 3 percent.
When asked later about the poll results, Wang declined to comment.
“I do not know,” the legislative speaker said when reporters asked him about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) comment that he hoped that the KMT’s presidential candidate would be the one most likely to win, and that Wang has the highest poll numbers among possible KMT candidates.
Meanwhile, Hung, who was backed by less than 30 percent of respondents in a similar poll conducted by the Chinese-language Apple Daily, said that she expects a turnaround toward the end of the presidential campaign.
She cited former US president Bill Clinton’s low popularity when he began his race against then-US president George H.W. Bush and the Conservative Party’s victory in the British general election this month as examples of politicians who came from behind to win victories.
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao
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
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
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
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS