The credibility and approval ratings of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) have dropped to the lowest point since his first-term inauguration in 2008, with more than 45 percent of respondents in a public opinion poll released yesterday in favor of recalling Ma.
The president’s credibility rating is now at 23.6 percent and his approval rating is at 16.5 percent, both new lows, with 71.7 percent of the respondents saying they were unsatisfied with his performance, the poll conducted by Taiwan Indicator Research Survey (TIRS) showed.
Strong discontent among the public appeared to be why 45.7 percent of those who polled said they would vote to recall Ma, while 40.7 percent disapproving of a recall and 16.7 percent saying they had no opinion.
According to TIRS general manager Tai Li-an (戴立安), the numbers were similar to a poll conducted in June 2006 when former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was accused of corruption in his second term.
At the time, Tai said 47 percent of those polled supported recalling Chen, while 40.9 percent were against it.
While a motion of no confidence against the Cabinet failed to pass the legislature on Saturday, respondents’ disgruntlement appeared to remain strong, with 46.4 percent saying that Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) and his Cabinet should be replaced, compared with 34.5 percent who opposed the reshuffle.
Out of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) supporters, 26.5 percent were in favor of Chen being replaced, the survey showed.
Regarding Cabinet officials in charge of economic affairs, 43 percent of respondents said they would give the officials three months to revitalize the economy, while 34.7 percent said the officials should be replaced immediately and 9.6 percent said there was no need to remove the officials.
The TIRS poll collected 1,007 valid samples on Monday and Tuesday, and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary