More than 65 percent of the public supports the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, but opinion is divided over proposed railway projects, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, citing a survey it conducted.
Respondents were asked twice if they supported the program — before and after they were asked if they approved of each sub-project — the party said.
In the initial polling, 33.1 percent of respondents approved of the program, while 27.3 percent disapproved, it said.
In the second poll, 65.6 percent approved of the program, while 31.4 percent disapproved.
“The poll gives us a clear insight into whether the public has received correct information about the program and whether getting correct information would change its judgement,” DPP Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said, adding that the party did not influence the respondents.
The respondents were divided over the NT$420 billion (US$13.83 billion) worth of railway projects aimed at improving intercity railways and urban rail transit, with 53 percent of the respondents supporting them and 43.5 percent opposing them.
There was overwhelming support for other projects in the program.
Water infrastructure projects worth NT$250 billion to develop and protect water resources and improve flood prevention and river management were supported by 83.6 percent of respondents, while 14.1 percent objected.
“Green” energy projects worth NT$24.3 billion to develop solar and wind farms were supported by 78 percent of respondents, while 19.3 percent disapproved.
Digital infrastructure projects with an NT$46 billion budget to improve information security, Internet infrastructure and online education were supported by 67.6 percent of respondents, while 26.3 percent opposed them.
Sixty-seven percent of respondents supported NT$130 billion in urban and rural development projects to improve parking and road quality, as well as develop industrial parks and public infrastructure, while 29.3 percent objected to the projects.
“The poll shows wide public support for the program,” DPP spokesman Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) said, urging the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to “replace confrontation with negotiation.”
The DPP would increase communication efforts in rural areas because a larger percentage of respondents in Keelung, Yilan, Hualien, Taitung and Penghu disapproved of the program, which might be due to local residents’ limited access to government information, Yang said.
While 61.9 percent of the respondents said the program could boost the economy and rebalance regional development, 32.8 percent said it could not.
When respondents were asked whether the program’s budget allocation avoided favoring DPP-governed municipalities to ensure regional balance and redress the practice of promoting northern Taiwan at the expense of the rest of the nation, 57.6 percent agreed, while 36.3 percent disagreed.
While 59.8 percent of respondents agreed that the program was made to invest in the future, 36.2 percent disagreed.
The survey was conducted between Monday and Wednesday with 1,096 valid samples, and had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
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