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Students give Chen passing marks

Questions and answers * How would you rate Chen's handling of relations with China? [34 votes total] Good (12) 35 percent Fair (13) 38 percent Poor (9) 26 percent * How would you rate Chen's handling of US-Taiwan issues? [25 votes total] Good (11) 44 percent Fair (7) 28 percent Poor (7) 28 percent * How would you rate Chen's handling of national economic issues? [22 votes total] Good (4) 18 percent Fair (9) 41 percent Poor (9) 41 percent * How would you rate Chen's handling of partisanship? [20 votes total] Good (9) 45 percent Fair (6) 30 percent Poor (5) 25 percent

It seems that everyone is eager to contribute their two cents on what President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) has been doing right -- and wrong. Amid all this generous sharing of opinions, there is a group of constituents whose voices are usually overlooked: College students in the US.

College students from Taiwan studying in the US represent a relatively large portion of the overall population of the country.

As it turns out, many of the students vote and some even fly back only for a few days specifically to have their say on who gets elected.

This year, the Taipei Times did an informal, unscientific online poll of college students from Taiwan in the US which covered a few key issues that concern Chen.

Some might question the value of the opinions of 18 to 25-year-olds living 10,000km away who gather their information through eavesdropping on their parents' political tirades and listening to the perhaps highly colored opinions they read on the Internet.

But college students in the US are not enmeshed in the political realm in Taiwan and the petty bickering that often takes place, a detachment from the nitty-gritty of politics that allows them a kind of educated objectivity compared with the highly partisan political climate in Taiwan.

The students' opinions are, therefore, a fair reflection of the impression Chen's first year in office has given the concerned international community.

The poll contained four questions on key issues and each student chose either "good," "fair" or "poor," depending on how he or she thought Chen handled each issue.

With regard to cross-strait relations, students from Taiwan responded in a positive way with 41 percent voting "good," 38 percent voting "fair" and 21 percent voting "poor." Chen has, in their view, done a good job in handling Taiwan's difficult relationship with China. As one student remarked in response to the poll, "He has handled the situation rationally and responsibly, cutting back a tremendous amount from his past position of Taiwan independence for the safety of the Taiwan."

On US-Taiwan issues, Chen fared even better with 53 percent voting "good," 27 percent "fair" and only 20 percent "poor."

The majority of students voting "good" reflects the positive attitude toward Taiwan that currently pervades US thinking.

One student commented, "Chen is doing the most that he can to improve US-Taiwan relations in the midst of political turmoil in Taiwan."

The responses to the question on how Chen is handling the economy were by far the most bleak of the four with only 24 percent voting "good," 43 percent voting "fair" and 33 percent "poor." Given the steady fall in the TAIEX, this negative feeling toward the economy makes sense because the students' tuition and overall lifestyle are largely dependent on their parents' economic well-being, which is rooted in Taiwan's economy.

Finally, concerning internal partisan politics, the students responded positively, with 45 percent voting "good," 35 percent voting "fair" and 20 percent voting "poor."

As one student responded, "He is doing a good job of being fair, and not putting party interests before national interests."

All in all, the majority of college students feel Chen is handling these key issues fairly well. This mostly positive attitude toward the president comes despite some decidedly negative voices.

One student stated, "Partisan politics are taking over the government and stifling it; [Chen] is not providing the strong leadership the government needs."

The Web site for the poll is www.geocities.com/mackmike6/presidentchen.html
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