The violence at the pan-blue rally on April 10 has caused the approval ratings of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
According to the poll, Lien's approval rating has dropped to 28 percent from the 40 percent recorded prior to the pan-blue rally on March 27, while Soong's approval rating has dropped to 27 percent, from 38 percent recorded before March 27.
On the other hand, President Chen Shui-bian's (
The poll was conducted by telephone among 1,000 respondents.
The poll results also showed that 57 percent of respondents disapproved of a possible pan-blue rally on May 19.
As to the approval ratings of political parties, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) scored the highest approval rating at 39 percent, followed by the 37 percent of the KMT and 25 percent of the PFP.
On the question of whether Lien should take responsibility for the pan-blue camp's failure to win the presidential election and resign as chairman of the KMT, respondents had different views. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said that Lien should give up his chairmanship, with 21 percent saying that he does not necessarily have to step down.
A further 14 percent said that Lien should not be held responsible for the pan-blue camp's failure to win the presidential election.
As to the question of whether the KMT should go through a transfer of leadership from the older leaders to younger ones, where the young refers to Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and KMT Deputy Chairman and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), 50 percent of respondents was in favor of this idea while 14 percent opposed it.
On the question of whether the KMT and PFP should merge into one single political party, 20 percent of respondents agreed while 16 percent felt that it was a feasible idea, whereas 22 percent were not in favor of the idea.
On the question of which party's legislative candidates respondents would vote for, 47 percent of respondents were undecided and said that they would have to see which candidates would be available in their districts.
Among respondents who have already made up their minds, 10 percent said they would vote for DPP candidates, 12 percent for KMT candidates, 5 percent for PFP candidates and 1 percent for Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) candidates.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New