The majority of people oppose imports of US meat containing ractopamine, but remain optimistic about Taiwan-US relations, survey results released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found.
Foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) designed the questions, and commissioned Focus Survey Research to conduct the survey by telephone.
Respondents were asked about a variety of major issues, which also included Taiwan-China relations, and public approval of the president and premier.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Of the respondents, 66.3 percent opposed imports of meat products containing ractopamine, while 28.2 percent approved, the foundation said.
However, the survey found that 60 percent of Democratic Progressive Party supporters approved of the imports, while 32 percent did not.
Among Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters, only 2.4 percent approved of the imports, and 97 percent opposed them.
Among the Taiwan People’s Party supporters who were surveyed, 15 percent approved of the imports and 85 percent disapproved, while 12 percent of New Power Party supporters approved and 79 percent disapproved.
Among those who had no political affiliation, 19 percent of respondents approved of the imports, while 74 percent opposed them.
The survey also found that 54.3 percent of respondents supported a referendum drive initiated by KMT lawmakers to reinstitute a ban on meat products containing ractopamine, while 36.1 percent did not.
Nearly all of the respondents aged 65 or under were in support of the referendum, while half of those above the age of 65 backed it, the foundation said.
Of the respondents, 51.3 percent said that they approved of how President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was dealing with major issues, while 37.4 percent said that they did not.
Regarding Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) overall performance, 52.3 percent said that they were happy with it, while 41.7 percent were dissatisfied.
Sixty-five percent of respondents said that they were not concerned that the relationship between Taiwan and the US would regress following the inauguration of US President Joe Biden, while 28 percent said they had such concerns.
On the issue of whether authorities should strive for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN, 79 percent said that they should, while 15 percent said they should not.
Meanwhile, 67 percent of the respondents said they disagreed that the Taiwan-China relationship was more important than Taiwan’s relations with other countries, while 26 percent said that it was.
Of the 67 percent, 37 percent said that they “strongly disagreed,” while of the 26 percent, 12 percent “strongly agreed.”
Half of respondents supported formal Taiwanese independence, while 14 percent said that they hoped Taiwan would eventually be unified with China, and 25 percent hoped that the “status quo” would be maintained.
The survey, conducted on Monday and Tuesday last week, collected 1,081 valid questionnaires and had a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points.
SCENARIOS: A potential conflict with Beijing would not be similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China would target energy and food supplies, a researcher said China is likely to continue using economic and cyberoperations against Taiwan to force it to capitulate without resorting to a military attack, Fox News reported yesterday, citing the outcome of a tabletop exercise. Washington-based think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) earlier this month held a tabletop exercise in Taipei focusing on Beijing’s use of economic and cybercoercion against Taiwan. The FDD mentioned an “anaconda strategy,” in which Beijing would likely use cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns followed by a blockade or other measures to strangulate Taiwan, rather than attempting an invasion, the report said. A large-scale cyberattack would be
HSINCHU CASES: Five people among 35 who were reported being sick were still in hospital after eating at a vendor in a market in Jhubei, the local health agency said Thirty-five people have sought medical treatment for acute symptoms after allegedly eating banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from a vendor in Jhubei City (竹北), the Hsinchu County Public Health Bureau said yesterday. The bureau said that since Saturday, it has received several reports of suspected food poisoning from hospitals. The vendor has been ordered to temporarily suspend its business, it said, adding that tests were being conducted to determine whether the people had food poisoning, with results expected in about two weeks. A preliminary investigation showed that the people who sought treatment had recently eaten banh mi at a vendor at a retail market
GOOD MODEL: Speaking at his book launch, Law said that Taiwan is the most democratic Chinese-speaking country, which is why Hong Kongers relocated here China has suffocated Hong Kong’s civil society and its next target could be Taiwan, Nathan Law (羅冠聰), cofounder of the disbanded pro-democracy Hong Kong political party Demosisto, said in Taipei yesterday. Law made the remarks at a launch in Taipei for his book When the Wind Blows — the Struggles for Freedom of Hong Kong (時代推著我們前行:羅冠聰的香港備忘錄). Law has been living in the UK since he fled Hong Kong in 2020, and the book is about his fighting for the cause of freedom in the area. He was granted political asylum in 2021. “Fleeing is a long and distressing process, but it also
IMITATING OTHERS? Tsai Ing-wen’s office said the former president rents a commercial unit for her personal office and had never used election funds to purchase real estate Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday confirmed that he used about NT$43 million (US$1.35 million) from his presidential election subsidy to purchase an office unit near the Legislative Yuan in May. Ko made the remarks after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) earlier in the day told a news conference that she received a tip-off that the TPP chairman had purchased a 48.76 ping (161.2m2) office unit at Jinan Building (濟南大樓), a commercial building in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正). Lin said that Ko purchased the unit on May 10, paying about NT$43 million in cash,