A majority of Taiwanese are unhappy with President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) policies and how his administration has handled human rights development, public opinion polls released yesterday on International Human Rights Day showed.
Almost two in three respondents, or 62.3 percent, were not satisfied with his administration’s protection of human rights, with only 31.1 percent giving Ma positive reviews on the issue, Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), executive director of the DPP’s Policy Research Committee, told a press conference.
The survey was conducted on Thursday and Friday, and collected 1,170 valid samples with a margin of error of 3.06 percent, Wu said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Public dissatisfaction with Ma’s performance in five areas on human rights — economic, environmental, judicial and political rights, as well as care for the disadvantaged — all exceeded 60 percent, with economic rights garnering a disapproval rate of 67.5 percent, followed by judicial protection with 67 percent, Wu said.
Another public survey released by Taiwan Indicator Survey Research (TISR) yesterday showed that a majority of respondents disapproved of most of the major policies that Ma had implemented this year.
The poll, touted as a year-end review of Ma’s policies, was conducted between Thursday and Friday, and collected 1,010 valid samples with a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
The TISR listed 10 major policies and asked respondents whether they supported them.
With the exception of Taiwan’s inclusion in the US’ Visa Waiver Program and a policy requiring the registration of real-estate transaction prices based on market value — both of which gained the support of more than half of those polled — the survey found that most of Ma’s policies were highly unpopular.
The increases in fuel and electricity rates were the most unpopular policy, with 87.8 percent of respondents voicing disapproval; followed by commodity price stabilization measures and pension reform, with 77.6 percent and 73.6 percent of respondents respectively saying the president handled the issues poorly.
Public dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of corruption investigations, US beef imports containing the feed additive ractopamine and the securities capital gains tax all came in above 60 percent, the survey found.
Even among respondents who identified themselves as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters, the dissatisfaction rate surpassed 50 percent for five of the 10 policies.
The poll also showed Ma’s approval rating at 17.2 percent, while 73.5 percent of respondents disapproved of his performance. Only 24.6 percent found him credible.
PIVOTAL ROLE: Taiwan’s importance in the global chip supply chain can be bolstered by domestic equipment manufacturing, President Tsai Ing-wen said Efforts must be made to better secure Taiwan’s place in the global supply chain by localizing production of equipment and facilities used by the semiconductor industry, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday. Tsai discussed the issue during a meeting with representatives from the Taiwan Electronic Equipment Industry Association at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Product shortages throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — particularly of automotive chips — highlighted the pivotal role of Taiwan in the global supply chain, she said. Tsai thanked the association for cooperating with the government on the shared goal of localizing production of important semiconductor industry equipment.
TRACING UNDER WAY: The CECC has identified six transmission chains among 25 recently confirmed COVID-19 cases, including those linked to a restaurant and a bank The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 54 new COVID-19 infections — 44 imported and 10 local — and identified six transmission chains among local cases. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the imported cases are 18 who tested positive upon arrival at the airport and 26 who tested positive during quarantine. Of the local cases, seven are associated with a cluster infection at a Tasty Steak (西堤牛排) outlet in Taoyuan’s Zhongli District (中壢), one is linked to a family of four with COVID-19 reported on Monday, one is a family member of an
BILINGUAL NATION 2030: Those interested can apply online, while recruitment would continue until all of the positions are filled, the Ministry of Education said The recruitment of foreign English teachers for elementary and junior-high schools would be expanded in the 2022-2023 school year as part of Taiwan’s efforts to become a bilingual country, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said yesterday. In a statement, the ministry said that it has since 2004 hired 81 foreign nationals per year to teach English in 16 smaller counties and cities to build a better English-learning environment for students. However, for the 2022-2023 school year, the number of foreign English teachers recruited would increase to 531, with some of them to be posted to Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan
Taiwan’s 5G service would not interfere with civil aviation, as there is a broad guard frequency band between the two systems, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday. The 5G system’s possible risks to flight safety came under scrutiny after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week warned that 5G services in the C-band spectrum might interfere with radio altimeters on certain types of aircraft, which could prevent a plane from stopping on the runway after landing. Pilots use radio altimeters when landing under low-visibility. Major US carriers last week also said that 5G service plans offered by AT&T and Verizon
RSS