A poll conducted by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission in May showed that less than 40 percent of people were satisfied with the cross-strait policy of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, sparking accusations yesterday that Ma’s policy was serving the interests of China rather than Taiwan. The survey results were released earlier this month.
The survey asked respondents to rank their level of satisfaction with the government’s policy on a scale of zero to 10, where a score of less than four meant “dissatisfied,” five “neutral” and above six “satisfied.”
In terms of cross-strait policy, 29 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied, 24.6 were neutral, 38.9 percent were satisfied, while 7.5 percent give no opinion, the survey showed.
The commission asked respondents to indicate on a scale from zero to 10 the level of importance they attached to cross-strait policy, with zero being not important and 10 being important.
It found that 59.1 percent of respondents gave the issue a score of at least six points, 18.8 percent gave it a score of five and 12.5 percent gave it less than 4 points, while 9.6 percent did not express any view.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) yesterday said the results of the survey showed that the government had failed to live up to the public’s expectations on cross-strait relations.
“That less than 40 percent of people surveyed were satisfied with Ma’s cross-strait policy in a government-conducted poll shows that his policy is satisfying China, not the people of Taiwan,” Chen said.
Responding to Chen’s analysis, Research, Development and Evaluation Commission Deputy Minister Sung Yu-hsieh (宋餘俠) said the DPP’s reading of the survey was wrong.
More than 63.5 percent of respondents gave a score of five or higher when asked about their satisfaction level with cross-strait policy, showing that they were satisfied, Sung said.
The commission carried out the survey on May 24 and May 25 and collected 1,202 valid samples. The poll had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of less than 2.93 percentage points.
The result was released on the commission’s Web site on Oct. 12.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS