As the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is expected to replace its presidential candidate, Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) — possibly with KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) — at an extraordinary party congress tomorrow, results of a survey show that the change might bring the party an increase in support.
With the election less than 100 days away, a Taiwan Indicators Survey Research (TISR) opinion poll showed that although Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would still lead if Chu replaces Hung, the margin would shrink from 31 percent to 23 percent.
If Hung remains the KMT nominee, Tsai would have 46.8 percent support, while Hung would have 16.5 percent and People First Party presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) would have 13.5 percent, the results showed.
However, if Chu replaces Hung 44.6 percent of respondents said they would still support Tsai, while Chu would receive 21 percent support and Soong 12 percent.
Despite Chu’s advantage over Hung in the poll, respondents indicated a lack of confidence over his ability to push reform in the KMT.
The survey showed that 29.6 percent of respondents said they believe Chu is capable of pushing reforms, while 51.3 percent said they did not believe he is.
When asked whether Tsai would handle cross-strait relationships according to the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, 42 percent of respondents said that she would, while 41.2 percent said she would not.
When asked about the future of the cross-strait relationship, 60 percent supported a policy of Taiwan and China as separate nations or exchanges according to the Constitution, while 27.4 percent said they backed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) support of the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The survey was conducted by telephone on Monday and Tuesday, collecting 1,003 valid samples.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to