Less than half of Taipei City Government employees are satisfied with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) leadership style and performance, but almost the same number feel that he has done an “average” job, a survey released yesterday found.
Taipei commissioners fared better, averaging a satisfactory rating of 58.44 and a score of 75.62 out of 100 in terms of leadership and ability.
The survey, conducted by the Taipei Research, Development and Evaluation Commission from Aug. 1 to Sept. 9, found that 42 percent of employees were satisfied with Ko’s leadership, giving him a score of 69.53 out of 100.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Forty percent of respondents felt the mayor has been average in style and performance, while 17.89 percent said they were dissatisfied with him on both accounts.
Asked about the likelihood they might quit their jobs, almost one-fifth of respondents (19.89 percent) said they were inclined to leave within a year; 48.07 percent said they would stay on and 32.04 percent are undecided.
The survey included a list of what employees see as the city government’s shortcomings, including commissioners or officials who hold managerial posts despite being “too moody,” “lacking in empathy” and prone to humiliating their subordinates with harsh criticism.
A sizeable portion of the respondents said that their superiors lacked the decisiveness or made poor decisions only to recant them later, resulting in policy flip-flops, or their superiors lacked the courage to take responsibility and were reluctant to engage in interdepartmental communications.
Other officials were criticized for caving in to pressure from Taipei city councilors or borough wardens and changing their policy directions, according to the survey.
Among the complaints on the list are that “sycophancy” and an “over-attention to details” are rampant in Ko’s administration, which had seen higher-ranking officials who lacked the knowledge needed for their jobs dominating experts during the decision making process and an overemphasis on good-looking numbers and spreadsheets, the survey found.
Another complaint was that high-ranking officials put inordinate emphasis on red tape without addressing core issues.
Some agency heads use instant messaging software to assign work to their subordinates during their off-hours, even if the work is not urgent, and some rely solely on instant messaging to assign work, the survey found.
A sizeable portion of respondents said that they would like to see a channel established that would allow them to submit complaints about their superiors, the survey found.
The survey collected a total of 29,464 valid samples from 147 municipal agencies, including the Taipei Public Library, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp, and the police and fire departments.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
A New York-based NGO has launched a global initiative to rename the nation’s overseas missions, most of which operate under the name "Taipei," to "Taiwan Representative Office (TRO)," according to a news release. Ming Chiang (江明信), CEO of Hello Taiwan, announced the campaign at a news conference in Berlin on Monday, coinciding with the World Forum held from Monday through Wednesday, the institution stated in the release. Speaking at the event, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) said she believed this renaming campaign would enable the international community to see Taiwan
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
TOO DANGEROUS: The families agreed to suspend crewed recovery efforts that could put rescuers in danger from volcanic gases and unstable terrain The bodies of two Taiwanese tourists and a Japanese pilot have been located inside a volcanic crater, Japanese authorities said yesterday, nearly a month after a sightseeing helicopter crashed during a flight over southwestern Japan. Drone footage taken at the site showed three bodies near the wreckage of the aircraft inside a crater on Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, police and fire officials said. The helicopter went missing on Jan. 20 and was later found on a steep slope inside the Nakadake No. 1 Crater, about 50m below the rim. Authorities said that conditions at the site made survival highly unlikely, and ruled
RSS