Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) won the highest ratings in a poll on the public’s satisfaction with the mayors of the six special municipalities published yesterday by the Chinese-language magazine Global Views Monthly, with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) receiving the lowest score.
Surveying 14,392 respondents from March 14 to April 20, the annual poll divided the nation’s 22 cities and counties into three categories: the six special municipalities, the 13 cities and counties on Taiwan proper and the three outlying counties.
Respondents were asked to rate their levels of satisfaction with the general performances of their respective mayors or commissioners, as well as with the policies carried out by the leaders in eight areas, including education, environmental protection, social security, and economy and employment.
The magazine said it factored in the respondents’ answers and used a five-star system to rate the performance of each local leader.
Of the special municipality mayors, Chen and Lai earned the highest rating of five stars, followed by Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) with 4.5 stars, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) with four stars each, and Ko with 3.5 stars.
Two of the other three mayors and commissioners who received the highest ratings are “regulars in the ‘five-star club,’” the magazine said, including Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) and Taitung County Commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭).
Lienchiang County Commissioner Liu Tseng-ying (劉增應) received five stars for the first time.
The survey results suggest that there are no “invincible political stars,” the magazine said, as evidenced by the decline in Ko’s ratings from 4.5 stars last year to 3.5 stars this year, the most significant drop among local government heads.
“In addition, compared with other local leaders, Ko experienced the greatest drop in the level of satisfaction his residents felt toward his performance, while seeing the most significant rise in public discontent,” the magazine said.
The magazine drew attention to three similarities shared by the three mayors who saw the most increase in their public satisfaction rates: Cheng, Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) and Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌).
“They are all in their first term, they are all members of the Democratic Progressive Party and they are under the age of 50,” the magazine said.
Their energy and relatively young ages apparently matched the expectations of younger people, it added.
Asked to comment on the poll, Lai said the results were particularly significant, with Tainan having endured a dengue fever outbreak last year as well as a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on Feb. 6, which killed 117 people and toppled several buildings in the city.
“I would like to dedicate this honor to Tainan residents. I will endeavor to do a better job and ensure successful implementation of my policies in the future to allow the public to feel at ease,” Lai said.
Chen said the five-star rating serves as a positive recognition of her government’s performance, thanked residents for their support and pledged to transform Kaohsiung into a better city for people to live in.
Ko said at a city council meeting in the afternoon that he was embarrassed by the survey’s results, which he said could be due to his unclear policies and failure to build an effective team.Additional reporting by Wang Jung-hsiang and Lu Heng-chien
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or