President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval and credibility ratings in Taiwan Indicators Survey Research’s (TISR) latest poll fell to their lowest since he took office in May 2008 amid the ongoing wiretapping controversy and political turmoil.
Ma’s latest approval rating came in at 14.5 percent in the second half of last month, down 1.7 percentage points from 16.2 percent in the first half of last month, while his credibility rating was 19.1 percent, down 1.9 points. Both ratings are the lowest in the monthly tracking poll since his inauguration, TISR general manager Tai Li-an (戴立安) said in a press release.
The survey, conducted on Thursday and Friday last week, found that Premier Jiang Yi-huah’s (江宜樺) approval rating of 15.1 percent, down 3.3 points from the previous poll, also marked his lowest since assuming the premiership in February. His disapproval rating also climbed 6.7 points to 53.4 percent.
The survey also polled respondents on the current political affairs related to the use of wiretaps and the power struggle between Ma and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Asked what they have observed in the ongoing political strife, 64.6 percent of respondents agreed that government investigations have been selective in their targets, followed by 63.5 percent who thought they were related to illegal wiretapping, 61.4 percent who felt there was political interference in the media and 55.5 percent who perceived political influence on the Central Election Commission.
Regarding Jiang’s comments that Wang’s role as speaker may be affected by allegations of improper lobbying, 50.3 percent of those polled said the remarks had violated the spirit of the constitution, 21.1 percent disagreed with the statement and 28.6 percent did not give an answer.
While more than half of respondents said they hate what they believe to be the executive branch’s breach of the principle of separation of power, they were exhausted by the deadlock in the legislature, with 54.2 percent supporting the use of police force when lawmakers occupy the podium as a method to block legislative procedures.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
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