President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has retaken the lead in his re-election bid over Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), a survey conducted by a US academic showed yesterday.
In the survey conducted by Peter Gries, director of the University of Oklahoma’s Institute for US-China Issues, Ma’s support rate was 34 percent, while Tsai was on 26 percent.
Support for People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) was at 10 percent, while undecided voters accounted for 30 percent, the survey showed.
If Soong withdrew from the presidential race, his supporters would be more likely to vote for Ma, the poll showed. In this scenario, Ma’s support rose to 45 percent, while Tsai would receive 30 percent of the vote, according to the results Gries presented in Taipei.
The survey, conducted between Nov. 17 and Monday with a sample size of 500 people and a 6.5 percent margin of error, used an Internet survey methodology to avoid biases associated with telephone and face-to-face polls, he said.
In terms of ethnic factors, respondents with a Hakka background were more likely to support Ma than Tsai at almost 60 percent versus 40 percent respectively.
People of Hoklo origin were more ambivalent about the two candidates, each of whom received a support rating of about 50 percent, the poll showed, adding that voters of Mainland descent are highly polarized over the two candidates, with Ma enjoying a support rate of more than 60 percent compared with Tsai’s 30 percent.
The survey also indicated that Ma supporters were slightly more likely to identify themselves as Chinese than Taiwanese, whereas Tsai supporters were more likely to identify themselves as Taiwanese.
When asked about cross-strait policies, most of Tsai’s supporters hoped the DPP presidential candidate would present tough China policies, while Ma’s supporters were more ambivalent about whether the president should be tougher on China, Gries said.
“Policies towards China seemed to be one of the major drivers of vote choice and partisanship … And undecided voters cared more about the economy and other issues,” he said.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS