Opinion polls by two local media outlets released yesterday showed Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in the lead ahead of the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24.
A poll commissioned by the Chinese-language Apple Daily and conducted by the Institute of Public Opinion at Shih Hsin University showed Ko leading with 34.9 percent of the vote, 4.1 percentage points higher than Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) at 30.8 percent.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Pasuya Yao (姚文智) had 10.4 percent of the vote, while 21.9 percent of respondents said they were undecided or declined to answer.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Of those polled, 61.6 percent who identified as pan-blue camp supporters said they back Ting, with 23.1 percent supporting Ko.
The poll showed that 45.3 percent of pan-green camp supporters favored Ko and 44.9 supported Yao, while 43.3 percent of neutral respondents supported Ko, 18.2 percent support Ting and 4.4 percent support Yao.
The telephone poll was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, and collected 1,068 valid responses.
Another poll conducted by online news outlet ETtoday showed Ko had the highest support rating of 41.7 percent, followed by Ting at 29.9 percent and Yao at 8.4 percent.
Independent candidate Li Hsi-kun (李錫錕) had 1.1 percent, while 5.6 percent said they support no one and 13.3 percent were undecided or refused to answer.
ETtoday’s poll was conducted between Sept. 3 and Sept. 9 via an online survey of eligible voters under 50 years old and computer-assisted telephone interviews of those older than 50. It collected 2,408 valid responses.
After the Apple Daily poll showed that voters are most confident in Ting’s ability to solve the issues surrounding the Taipei Dome construction project, Ko yesterday said that the project shows that many minor problems can add up to become a “big mess,” but added that everything must be safe and legal, and the project would be discussed at an urban design review meeting on Thursday.
He also said it is unlikely that the DPP would persuade Yao to withdraw from the mayoral election after a rumor circulated that the party could do so if his support rating remains below 15 percent.
Yao told a news conference yesterday that although the first and second phase of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit circular line have been completed, a north-south public transport corridor to connect the city’s Dazhi area (大直) and Nangang (南港) and Xinyi (信義) districts is still needed to solve the city’s traffic problems.
Additional reporting by Chou Yen-yu
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS