A public opinion poll published yesterday found that the majority of respondents were concerned that Taiwan’s fiscal problems could lead the nation to face an economic crisis similar to Greece’s and felt pessimistic about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pension reforms.
Asked if they were concerned that the nation’s debt crisis could turn it into another Greece, 70.7 percent of the respondents said yes, a survey conducted by the Taiwan Thinktank from Wednesday to Friday showed.
In addition, 72.9 percent of those polled said the holding of a national affairs conference, as proposed by the opposition parties, was necessary to address the gravity of the fiscal issues.
Photo: CNA
Only 24.6 percent of the respondents said they were not worried about possible “Hellenization,” said Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), convener of the think tank’s survey team, at a press conference yesterday.
The survey also found that 67.6 percent of those questioned had no confidence in Ma’s pledge to submit a complete plan on pension reform in January that would improve the nation’s finances, compared with 18.2 percent who said they felt confident about the promise.
The average age of retirement among the survey’s participants was 58.5 years and the average expected monthly pension for an affordable retirement life was NT$28,602.
Ma’s disapproval rating was at its lowest — 70.5 percent — since the thinktank began to conduct the monthly surveys in March, the poll showed, despite his approval rating of 21.1 percent being slightly up from last month’s 19.3 percent.
The poll also showed that most people did not oppose Ma’s “bumbler” tag, given by UK-based weekly magazine The Economist recently and which led to much controversy.
Asked about the article and the term “bumbler” — whose translation was the subject of debate in local media — 57.1 of the respondents said it meant Ma was “indecisive,” 18.3 percent said it mean the president was “stupid” and 7.2 percent said it meant both.
Most of those polled — 74.9 percent — did agree on one thing: The report has seriously damaged Taiwan’s international image.
On the elections in special municipalities, cities and counties in 2014, the poll found that 33.9 percent of respondents supported the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), while 22.6 percent were for the Chinese Nationalist Party and 43.5 percent were undecided.
The DPP’s increased exchanges with Beijing were approved by 57.1 percent of survey participants, while 23.4 percent disapproved.
While most of those surveyed agreed with the party’s drive to better understand China and 67.2 percent said they were aware of the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Party Congress, the poll found that 63 percent either did not know who Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) was, or could not name his position.
The poll collected 1,072 samples and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
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
RSS