The latest poll from the Taiwan Indicator Survey Research (TISR) suggested that support for ceasing the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), increased by 4 percentage points from a previous poll conducted in March.
TISR general manager Tai Li-an (戴立安) said that the percentage of people opposed to completing the nuclear plant increased from 58 percent in March to 62 percent last month.
The government’s efforts to persuade the public that the plant is safe are not only ineffective, they are actually causing more people to be worried, Tai said.
On the issue of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s and Taiwan Power Co’s joint efforts to persuade the public of the overall safety of nuclear power, the latest poll showed that 73.6 percent of respondents were not swayed by the government’s arguments.
Only 9.1 percent indicated that they have changed their minds, 4 percent of whom said that they had gone from questioning to flat-out opposition. Only 1.9 percent said they were persuaded by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, the survey showed.
The poll also showed that Ma’s low public approval ratings have not rebounded, with only 19 percent of respondents satisfied with his administration and 73.4 percent dissatisfied.
Meanwhile, only 24.9 percent said they have faith in the government, while 60.2 percent have no confidence in the government.
The survey was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday through random telephone samplings of 1,005 residents who were older than 20 spread across the nation, Tai said.
The poll has a 95 percent confidence interval and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex