President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday expressed regret over his record-low support in recent opinion polls leading up to his second-term inauguration tomorrow, promising to reflect on the performance of the government and work harder to implement reforms.
“We have seen and heard [the public reaction and polls released by media outlets]. The government will reflect on its performance. Although our goal of pushing reforms will not change, we do promise to listen to public opinion when implementing policy and make adjustments where possible,” Ma said after attending the opening of the Straits Exchange Foundation’s new building in Taipei.
Support for Ma has plummeted following a series of policies that attracted public opposition, from the relaxation of rules governing traces of livestock feed additive ractopamine in US beef to increases in electricity and fuel prices.
Photo: CNA
A poll released yesterday by the Chinese-language United Daily News — which is generally considered to be sympathetic to the pan-blue camp — showed support for Ma had reached a new low of 23 percent. The poll, conducted from Tuesday to yesterday, with 1,112 valid samples, also indicated that 56 percent of respondents expressed a lack of confidence in Ma’s leadership of the nation over the next four years.
In a survey conducted by the newspaper soon after Ma’s first inauguration in 2008, public support for Ma was 66 percent.
Those who disapproved of Ma’s performance cited weakness in policy implementation, a tendency to ignore public opinion and a general lack of trustworthiness, the latest poll showed.
The results of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) latest poll, released on Thursday, were very similar to those in the United Daily News poll, with only 25 percent of interviewees satisfied with Ma’s performance.
Ma yesterday said the government was sorry about the inconvenience and concerns that certain policies had caused to the public and reiterated that his administration would do everything it could to do better over the next four years.
“We will continue to reflect, improve and work harder on government performance,” he said.
Ma declined to comment on the protest planned by the opposition parties today and tomorrow, saying he would instead keep a close eye on public opinion.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2