Support for the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has for the first time overtaken the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), making it the nation’s second-largest political force, the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation said yesterday, as it released the results of its latest public opinion survey.
The foundation’s survey on political support and the referendums in December found that 17.6 percent support the TPP, compared with 16.2 percent for the KMT, a lead of 1.4 percentage points and the highest ever recorded for the party.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held firm at the top at 27.1 percent, although a close 26.6 percent of respondents declined to choose any party.
Meanwhile, 4.8 percent chose the New Power Party (NPP), 4.3 percent supported the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and 2 percent chose other parties, while the remaining 1.4 percent either did not know or declined to answer.
The most striking result is the TPP “overtaking the KMT at the bend” to become the country’s second-largest party for the first time, foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) said.
Also worth noting is the record support for the Taiwan Statebuilding Party on the eve of the recall vote of its sole legislator, Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟), You said.
The results also mark a “dramatic shift” from last month’s poll, with the DPP and KMT recording sharp declines and minor parties seeing boosts, he said.
More specifically, the DPP and the KMT lost 3 and 3.1 percentage points respectively, while the TPP gained 4.3 percentage points, the NPP added 1.8 percentage points and support for the Taiwan Statebuilding Party increased by 1.9 percentage points.
The number of moderates also dropped by 3.1 percentage points, although whether the results are indicative of a changing political landscape has yet to be seen, You said.
When the TPP was founded, it only enjoyed 8.1 percent support, but it has more than doubled that, he said.
Whether it can maintain its newfound popularity is a question that should not be taken lightly, especially as its chairman, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), eyes the presidency in 2024, he added.
Meanwhile, the KMT has found itself stuck in a prolonged slump ever since last year’s presidential and legislative elections, You said.
Its current support is the third-lowest it has been over the past two years, and a 3 percentage point slump from last month in a blow for new KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), he added.
The survey, designed by You and executed by Focus Survey Research, was conducted from Monday to Wednesday last week.
Pollsters selected participants aged 20 or older via nationwide sampling of residential telephone numbers, collecting 1,075 valid samples with a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
Asked about the survey, TPP spokesperson Yang Bao-zheng (楊寶楨) said that public opinion is fickle and the party cannot be complacent after seeing figures representing only a moment.
She also called on the DPP to respond to public opinion, as “the people will turn on you if you turn your back on them.”
Brushing polls off as “reference material,” the KMT called attention to the discrepancy between the foundation’s figures and those gathered by the Election Study Center at National Chengchi University and other organizations.
It added that the poll was held before the successful Chen recall vote on Saturday, saying the political situation has changed significantly.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun and Shih Hsiao-kuang
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS