President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval rating sank to a new low this month as economic confidence indices continue to drop, a poll released yesterday by Global Views (遠見雜誌) magazine showed.
The poll, conducted by the Global Views Survey Research Center (遠見民調), gauges what it calls the Taiwan public mood index (TPMI), which draws from a political confidence index (PCI) and an economic confidence index (ECI).
On a scale from zero to 100, the survey found that the TPMI was 42.6, the PCI was 50.1 and the ECI was 35. The figures represented a drop from last month ranging between 0.3 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points.
On the political front, respondents’ confidence in Ma was only 49.4, a drop of 3.2 percentage points from last month. Premier Liu Chao-shuan’s (劉兆玄) confidence index was 46.6 and that of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was 43.2.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received 40.6 in the confidence index, a 0.1 decline. The DPP’s confidence index climbed by 3.6 percentage points to 36.2.
Pollsters attributed the DPP’s growth to Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) ice-breaking visit to China last month, which won much acclaim after she referred to Ma as “President Ma of the central government” in front of Chinese officials.
Although a majority of respondents expected to see cross-strait detent continue next month, the score for political stability for next month was 48.7. The figure was still an increase from last month.
Pollsters said that the incresase might have something to do with the summer lull in the legislature.
Ma’s announcement that he would run for KMT chairman was likely to have played a role in boosting public confidence in next month’s political prospects, they said.
The economic index was 26.5, a drop of 0.9 percentage points from last month. The economic optimism index plunged by 2.9 percentage points to 43.6.
The lackluster performance of the local and international stock markets might have contributed to the decline, pollsters said. Compounding the problem were price hikes for utilities, food and commodities, they said.
Most respondents said they were pessimistic about next month’s economic prospects, with the economic improvement index scoring 45.9 and the index for individual finances at 41.2.
The poll, conducted on June 16 and June 17, questioned 1,004 adults across the country. Meanwhile, Ma yesterday vowed to continue with his economic policies and increase domestic demand.
Ma said the economic downturn could drag on for a long period of time, adding he understood the opposition had different ideas about his economic and cross-strait policies.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS