As the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is expected to replace its presidential candidate, Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) — possibly with KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) — at an extraordinary party congress tomorrow, results of a survey show that the change might bring the party an increase in support.
With the election less than 100 days away, a Taiwan Indicators Survey Research (TISR) opinion poll showed that although Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would still lead if Chu replaces Hung, the margin would shrink from 31 percent to 23 percent.
If Hung remains the KMT nominee, Tsai would have 46.8 percent support, while Hung would have 16.5 percent and People First Party presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) would have 13.5 percent, the results showed.
However, if Chu replaces Hung 44.6 percent of respondents said they would still support Tsai, while Chu would receive 21 percent support and Soong 12 percent.
Despite Chu’s advantage over Hung in the poll, respondents indicated a lack of confidence over his ability to push reform in the KMT.
The survey showed that 29.6 percent of respondents said they believe Chu is capable of pushing reforms, while 51.3 percent said they did not believe he is.
When asked whether Tsai would handle cross-strait relationships according to the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, 42 percent of respondents said that she would, while 41.2 percent said she would not.
When asked about the future of the cross-strait relationship, 60 percent supported a policy of Taiwan and China as separate nations or exchanges according to the Constitution, while 27.4 percent said they backed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) support of the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The survey was conducted by telephone on Monday and Tuesday, collecting 1,003 valid samples.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
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
RSS