President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) popularity has dropped to a record low of 16 percent in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, and his odds of winning the 2012 election have fallen to 50 percent, according to opinion polls released yesterday.
A survey conducted by the TVBS Poll Center on Monday and Tuesday found Ma’s approval rating had plummeted to 16 percent, while Premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s (劉兆玄) rating plunged to 13 percent.
The poll represented a dive of 25 percentage points from a TVBS poll in June and was down 7 percentage points on Ma’s previous low last October.
Sixty-four percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the government’s performance in relief efforts, while only 21 percent said they were satisfied.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent, TVBS said.
The poll by the Chinese-language United Daily News, a pro-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) paper, found Ma’s popularity had dropped to 29 percent, while Liu had a 20 percent approval rating.
Forty-six percent of respondents said they did not have any confidence in the government’s reconstruction efforts, while 38 percent said they did and 15 percent said they did not have an opinion.
A large-scale Cabinet reshuffle was favored by 46 percent of respondents in the newspaper poll, compared to the 18 percent who felt that way in a May survey.
The newspaper poll of 919 adults on Tuesday had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent.
Ma won 58.45 percent of votes in last year’s presidential election and once had an approval rating of 66 percent.
Meanwhile, the Center for Prediction Market at National Chengchi University said the odds of Ma’s winning the presidential election had dwindled to 53.6 percent, a drop of 8.1 percentage points from its Aug. 8 forecast. The center began tracking the issue in April, but the trading was not vibrant until late June when Ma’s odds of winning the 2012 poll were more than 70 percent, said Lin Jih-wen (林繼文), the center’s executive director.
The center makes predictions on a variety of issues, including politics, the economy, international affairs, sports and entertainment.
Lin said the likelihood of Ma’s winning the 2012 election in a two-way race had dropped since June. Although it has yet to reach the 50 percent mark, the drop after the typhoon was dramatic, Lin said, adding that it would be “dangerous” for Ma if it fell below 50 percent.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
RSS