A poll released yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) suggested that both Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) would defeat President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) if the 2012 presidential election were held now.
The telephone poll found support for Tsai at 31.5 percent, against Ma at 29.4 percent.
In a match-up between Su and Ma, the survey showed that support stood at 36.8 percent for Su and 29.2 percent for Ma.
The paper said the results represented another example of voter disappointment with the president’s policies, which it called “unsatisfactory,” and that it was a signal that Ma would face an uphill battle in 2012.
Commenting on the poll yesterday, Tsai called it a “big warning signal” for the president.
The poll found that disapproval with Ma’s policies over the last two years stood at 49.53 percent.
A number of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers questioned the poll yesterday, saying they did not believe the Liberty Times poll center existed.
KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said the poll was “extremely shameless,” and, echoing earlier complaints, said he had never heard of the Liberty Times poll center.
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) reportedly said it was a “feel good poll” and that “as long as they are happy, they should [continue].”
Questions over the Liberty Times poll center first arose when the Chinese-language China Times published a scathing attack on the paper last month, saying it had doubts on the credibility of Liberty Times surveys. In response, Liberty Times spokesman Jackson Su (蘇宇暉) said yesterday the poll center did exist and it planned to continue conducting more polls in the future.
The poll was conducted on 1,046 respondents between May 18 and May 19, the paper said.
The poll came after another survey by the Chinese-language United Daily News released a day before Ma’s second anniversary yesterday showed the majority of voters still dissatisfied with his administration.
The survey found that, while the president’s approval rating, at 39 percent, gained slightly from the previous month, 43 percent still said they weren’t happy with his policies.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
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