Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) office on Friday said its own poll had a different result from one published by a Chinese-language weekly magazine, which showed Hung trailing former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) in the party’s chairperson race.
A poll, commissioned by the China Times Weekly magazine and published on Friday showed Wu leading with 20.1 percent support, followed by Hau on 17.4 percent and Hung on 16.8 percent.
In another poll, also by the magazine, that excluded pan-green supporters, Hau bested Wu with 24.7 percent to Wu’s 23.1 percent, and Hung came in third with 21.3 percent.
Photo: CNA
Hung’s office said that the magazine’s poll numbers “had apparent gaps with the general consensus and our office’s poll results.”
“The magazine’s survey only had about 400 respondents; we would refrain from commenting on its validity,” it said, adding that a poll commissioned by the office and conducted between Feb. 2 and 6 with more than 1,200 samples from pan-blue supporters showed Hung had 65 percent support as party chairwoman.
“Hung’s cross-strait peace policy platform was shown to have 78 percent support and she was also leading in the chairperson race, though without obtaining a majority,” office spokesman Yu Hao (游顥) said, without providing precise numbers.
Hau and Wu yesterday said they would not place too much importance on the poll numbers, with Hau adding that what matters is being the first in the final vote.
Asked whether Hung’s office conducted the poll using the party headquarters’ resources, Hau said Hung should make public the poll if the party paid for it, adding that Hung has vowed to distribute party resources fairly and complete a list of party members, according to party regulations.
“What matters most now is for the party headquarters to quickly help set up an election committee with representatives recommended by all the chairperson candidates,” he said.
Additional Reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang and Wang Jung-hsiang
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
Taiwan has recorded its first fatal case of Coxsackie B5 enterovirus in 10 years after a one-year-old boy from southern Taiwan died from complications early last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC spokesman Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) told a news conference that the child initially developed a fever and respiratory symptoms before experiencing seizures and loss of consciousness. The boy was diagnosed with acute encephalitis and admitted to intensive care, but his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away on the sixth day of illness, Lo said. This also marks Taiwan’s third enterovirus-related death this year and the first severe