The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday attributed President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) approval rating dips to what it said were her administration’s disregard of the public and thirst for greater political gains.
Speaking at a news conference at the KMT headquarters yesterday morning, KMT Culture and Communications Committee Deputy Director-General Tang Te-ming (唐德明) said the Tsai administration is like a dish of seemingly delicious vegetables that has gradually gone bad due to the presence of “corrupting bacteria.”
Tang said the government does not seem to have the public interest in mind and appears fixated on obtaining greater political gains and taking down the KMT.
“The DPP attaches little importance to national interests and fawns over Japan and the US at the expense of the nation’s sovereignty and fishing rights,” Tang said.
Tang said that the Tsai administration practices nepotism, citing as an example allegations that state-owned China Airlines’ (CAL) personnel reshuffle was based on a list of candidates provided by DPP headquarters.
The news conference came one day after Taiwan Indicators Survey Research published an opinion poll that showed Tsai’s approval ratings dropped below 50 percent for the first time since she was sworn in on May 20.
The percentage of people who expressed dissatisfaction over Tsai’s performance surged from 16.3 percent in May to nearly 40 percent in the research center’s latest survey.
In addition, the poll showed that Premier Lin Chuan’s (林全) disapproval rating surpassed his approval rating for the first time, at 40.4 percent and 37.3 percent respectively. Lin’s disapproval rating in the May survey was 17.4 percent.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) accused Tsai of being an opportunistic leader who has sought to please everyone and solved no real problems.
“From the comfort women issue, the problem of the government being entangled with the ruling party and the suspension of cross-strait communications to the nation’s sovereignty claims over Taiping Island [Itu Aba Island, 太平島], the stalled Taiwan-Japan fisheries negotiation and people’s unsatisfactory level of livelihood, Tsai has addressed none of these issues,” Hu said.
Hu said that Tsai’s failure to fix problems is precisely why voters are starting to count down her days in office when it is only three months into her four-year presidential term.
Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷), another committee deputy director-general, said that the Tsai administration has a tendency to flip-flop on major social issues and to bow to pressure.
“For instance, Tsai backed down on her nominations of Judicial Yuan president and vice president amid mounting public criticism... This shows that only those in charge know how difficult it is to be in charge,” Hung said.
On Saturday, Tsai approved Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission Chief Commissioner Hsieh Wen-ting’s (謝文定) and Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chin-fang’s (林錦芳) withdrawal of their nominations as Judicial Yuan president and vice president respectively.
The navy’s new 10,600-tonne warship is on Tuesday to be christened the ROCN Yushan (玉山), as the nation’s indigenous shipbuilding program reaches a milestone, sources said yesterday. The vessel, previously referred to as the “new landing platform dock,” was at a shipyard with its name freshly painted on the hull with the number 1401, the Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) reported yesterday, citing an unnamed observer. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), a member of the legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed the report in a Facebook post. The NT$4.635 billion (US$163 million) ship is designed
INTERNATIONAL WEED DAY: Advocates are to hold a demonstration to push for the decriminalization of marijuana and allowing its use for treatment of certain conditions It is time for Taiwanese society to examine the medical benefits of cannabis, in line with the international trend to lift restrictions on and decriminalize the use of marijuana, two legislators said yesterday, ahead of tomorrow’s “Rally for Equal Rights for Cannabis” in Taipei. Taiwan is one of a few countries holding a “420 International Weed Day” event — which usually takes place around the April 20 weekend — as most nations have canceled it this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said organizer Green Sensation, which is composed of doctors, lawyers and entertainers, among others. The group released a
DIALOGUE SOUGHT: Washington said it was concerned about the pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate Taiwan after the 10th day of PLA activity in the region The US on Monday urged Beijing to stop its multifaceted pressure campaign against Taiwan after China sent 25 military jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. “The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempts to intimidate the region, including Taiwan,” a US Department of State spokesperson said in an e-mail response to questions. “We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.” The Ministry of National Defense said that 25 Chinese military aircraft entered the zone on Monday. It was the 10th straight
‘NOT ENTHUSIASTIC’: People who have been approved by the CECC as special cases who need to travel, such as foreign diplomats, would be able to receive a vaccine The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday expanded the eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination to the fourth priority group — people who need to travel abroad for special reasons — adding that out-of-pocket vaccines would be available from Wednesday next week. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said although Taiwan’s COVID-19 vaccination program was on Monday expanded to include the top three groups in the priority list, people are still “not enthusiastic” about getting vaccinated. “Only 1,220 people received a vaccine shot on Tuesday, and a total of 27,113 people have received COVID-19 vaccination” so far, he
RSS