More than half of respondents in a survey published yesterday said that if President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) were a brand, his brand personality would be that of an “over-packaged product” with “exaggerated claims of effectiveness.”
The three most chosen descriptions of Ma’s brand were all negative, with 60.6 percent of participants saying Ma was “over-packaged,” 53.3 percent saying his abilities were “exaggerated” and 38.5 percent seeing him as “an expired, deteriorating product” in the survey conducted by research firm Taiwan Indicators Survey Research.
The newly established company, headed by former Global Views Survey Research Center director Tai Li-an (戴立安), released its first Taiwan Mood Barometer Survey, which Tai said would be conducted twice a month and cover various economic and political issues.
Ma’s unpopularity was reflected in the poll, with 57.4 percent of respondents saying the president was not trustworthy and 67.5 percent disapproving of his performance.
Even 47.4 percent of those who identified themselves as pan-blue supporters were unsatisfied with Ma’s performance, Tai said.
Tai also said Ma’s leadership ability had been in doubt after a series of controversial policies on US beef imports, capital gains taxation and fuel and electricity price hikes.
Ma’s current level of credibility was a far cry from his days as Taipei mayor, Tai said, adding that 68.2 percent of respondents in an August 2004 poll had said Ma was a trustworthy leader.
“It seems to us that President Ma, who begins his second term in office on May 20, will face both a ‘credibility crisis’ and a ‘leadership crisis’ in the next four years,” Tai said.
The lack of confidence in the president shows in people’s reluctance to support his China policy, with 58.2 percent of respondents saying political or military negotiations between Taiwan and China are unnecessary in the next four years.
In addition, 24.7 percent agreed with more extensive cross-strait negotiations in the future, down from 43.2 percent in November 2008.
Only 14.4 percent of those surveyed said Ma’s re-election would further relax Beijing’s ambition to annex Taiwan, while 25.8 percent said China would become even more aggressive and 46.5 percent expected no change.
The poll also found that views on Taiwan’s economic outlook were dismal, with 84.3 percent of respondents saying that the economy was bad.
Premier Sean Chen’s (陳冲) approval rating was 21.8 percent after three months in office, the poll showed.
Chen’s satisfaction ratings were comparatively lower than those of his two predecessors’, former premiers Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who averaged an approval rating of 34 percent after their first three months in office, Tai said.
The poll, conducted between Sunday and Tuesday, was drawn from 1,701 respondents with a margin of error of 3 percent.
Tai’s resignation from the Global View poll center during the presidential campaign in October last year caught the public’s attention after the release of a public opinion poll which was unfavorable toward Ma.
Tai declined to comment yesterday whether he had resigned due to political pressure on him and his former employer.
Separately yesterday, Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said the Presidential Office would take all poll results as references and promised to reflect on the government’s performance with humility.
Ma, who will be sworn in for his second term on May 20, is faced with record-low support in opinion polls and growing challenges from within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over recent policies.
Ma previously brushed aside such concerns and said the government is determined to push forward reforms. Yesterday he declined to comment on his waning support.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique