Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) support rating has declined noticeably following Sunday’s televised presidential debate, while those of the other two candidates have increased mildly, according to a survey released by the Cross-Strait Policy Association (CSPA) yesterday.
The telephone-based poll, conducted between Sunday evening and Monday among Taiwanese aged 20 or older, showed that while Tsai maintained a strong lead over her rivals, her support rating has dropped to 45.1 percent, compared with 52.6 percent in a survey released by the association three weeks ago.
In contrast, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) approval rating rose from 20.1 percent to 22.1 percent over the same period, while a more significant rise was observed in the support rating for People First Party (PFP) presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜): from 9.2 percent to 13.6 percent.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Despite the decline, the majority, or 75.3 percent, of respondents said Tsai would be the likely winner of the Jan. 16 presidential election, followed by Chu at 10.2 percent and Soong at 2.7 percent.
Regarding the candidates’ respective performances in Sunday’s debate, respondents appeared to be most impressed by Soong, with 66.3 percent saying the PFP chairman did well during the debate; only 15.9 percent said otherwise, the poll showed.
Coming in second was Tsai, whose debate performance was praised by 62.4 percent of respondents, compared with 21.2 percent who said she did poorly.
Chu was the only candidate whose performance received more negative evaluations than positive ones, with 38.2 percent lauding his performance against 43.8 percent who said he did poorly.
When asked whose policies proposed during the debate they agreed with the most, 42 percent chose Tsai, while 18.9 percent and 15.5 percent opted for Chu and Soong respectively.
Most respondents said that Tsai’s performance was most befitting of a national leader, at 42.8 percent, followed by Soong at 26.7 percent and Chu at 19.9 percent.
As for their debate performances in general, 45.5 percent said Tsai outshone the others, while 22.3 percent said Soong came out on top and 20.6 percent supported Chu.
The survey collected 1,210 valid samples. It has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 2.82 percentage points.
CSPA secretary-general Anson Hung (洪耀南) said Tsai’s approval rating was at its highest of 52.6 percent when KMT vice presidential candidate Jennifer Wang (王如玄) was embroiled in a military housing scandal.
“Three weeks later, Tsai’s support rating has returned to its normal level of about 45 percent,” Hung said, adding that Soong was undoubtedly the biggest winner in Sunday’s debate.
Former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) said that, while recent polls have consistently shown Tsai receiving more than 45 percent of support, it was estimated that she could garner at least 60 percent of the vote in the election, which would surpass the 58 percent record set by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in 2008.
“The upcoming election is not just an ordinary election. It could reset Taiwan’s political scene, put the DPP in power for more than a decade and see the downfall of the KMT,” Hsu said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial. Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively. Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses. The two would also be