KMT candidate making ground on Mayor Hsieh

The race for Kaohsiung mayor appeared to be tightening as KMT candidate Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英) saw his highest ratings yet, according to a survey that was released yesterday.

The poll could be a sign that growing dissatisfaction with the government was spreading to the December mayoral races.

According to the poll conducted by a Chinese-language newspaper and a local TV network, Huang has reached a support rating of 30.4 percent. DPP Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) was still in the lead with a support rating of 34.9 percent, the poll said.

Two other major independent candidates in the race lagged behind. Former interior minister Chang Po-ya (張博雅) had 6.1 percent of the vote, while former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) was in last place with 3.2 percent. The rest were undecided.

The telephone poll conducted on Monday evening surveyed the opinions of 737 voters and had a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

A month ago, Huang's poll support rating was at 16.9 percent.

Over the weekend, an estimated 100,000 farmers marched in Taipei protesting a government plan to reform debt-laden credit unions that provide loans to farmers and fishermen.

The upset over the policy has triggered a small reshuffle of the Cabinet and pushed President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) approval ratings to their lowest point since he stepped into office.

If Hsieh did lose the race, it would be another major setback for the DPP.