The New Power Party (NPP) is the only “third force” party likely to be awarded at-large legislative seats, according to a new poll released yesterday by the Taiwan Thinktank, which also showed that a large majority of the party’s supporters come from the “pan-green” camp.
The poll results show that the NPP has a support rating of 5.6 percent for voters’ at-large legislative seat ballot, compared with 4.3 percent for the People First Party (PFP), 3.7 percent for the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), 2.3 percent for the Green Party-Social Democratic Party Alliance (Green Party-SDP Alliance), 1.6 percent for the Free Taiwan Party and 0.7 percent for the Republic Party (Minkuotang, MKT).
The results, polled from an effective sample of 1,068 people, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points, suggest that among the smaller parties, only the NPP could reach the five percentage point vote threshold necessary to be awarded at-large legislative seats, while other parties couldmeet the 3.5 percent threshold to be eligible for political party subsidies.
Trend Survey and Research Co chief executive officer Chou Yung-hong (周永鴻) said that the Jan. 16 legislative elections were likely to lead to a “reshuffling” of small parties, with the TSU facing “extinction” amid the rise of “third force” parties associated with social movements, which have drawn support away from the TSU and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“Supporters of [DPP presidential candidate] Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), and the NPP and SDP basically overlap,” Chou said, citing the closely matching percentages of young, educated voters, who form the core of Tsai’s and “third force” party voters.
“The vast majority of NPP voters support Tsai, but some of Tsai’s voters are not turning around and supporting DPP legislative candidates,” he said, adding that the poll showed the NPP’s support was not confined to northern Taiwan and urban areas, where most of its district candidates have been fielded.
“Even though there is some competition with DPP legislative district candidates, the NPP firmly supports Tsai because it knows that many of its supporters are also Tsai’s supporters,” said Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), a Soochow University political scientist who also serves on the NPP’s executive committee.
Poll results showed that the NPP strategy was correct, he said.
Attempts to integrate the NPP and SDP reportedly failed over the issue of whether a proposed alliance would support Tsai, with the SDP insisting on maintaining neutrality.
Steve Wang (王思為), an assistant professor in the Institute of European Studies at Nanhua University, said the poll suggest the need for the NPP and the Green Party-SDP Alliance to make electoral strategy adjustments, presenting themselves as more “green” to attract more votes from DPP and TSU supporters.
He said the alliance’s electoral focus on environmental and social justice issues failed to address voters’ concerns.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS