A Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation poll has shown that the approval ratings for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier William Lai (賴清德) hit a new low following last month’s nine-in-one elections, foundation chairman You Ying-lung (游盈隆) said yesterday, adding that if he were elected party chairman, he would make sure the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) understood what the public wants and met the needs of Taiwanese.
The poll, conducted last week, showed that Tsai’s approval rating dropped from 28.5 percent last month to 24.3 percent this month, while Lai’s slid from 38.9 percent last month to 37.1 percent this month, You told a news conference in Taipei.
Their approval ratings are the lowest since taking office, You said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Asked whether they approve of Tsai’s handling of cross-strait relations, 25.3 percent of the respondents said they did, compared with 65.7 percent who said they did not, he added.
The poll asked respondents to rate the warmth of their feelings toward Tsai and Lai — as well as Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung mayoral-elect Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and New Taipei City mayor-elect Hou You-yi (侯友宜) — on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being the coldest and 100 the warmest.
The results showed that respondents feel the warmest toward Ko, who received an average rating of 65.81 percent, followed by Han (62.12 percent) and Hou (59.79 percent), and the coldest toward Lai (53.81 percent) and Tsai (42.98 percent).
The poll showed that 27.5 percent of the respondents support the DPP, while 35.6 percent support the KMT and 32 percent reported being independent or politically neutral.
“The results show that the KMT has fully recovered from its bruising defeat in the 2016 [legislative and presidential] elections, while the DPP has slid back to where it was 10 years ago,” You said.
If he were elected DPP chairman, he would “ensure that the party and government sufficiently understood public opinion” so that they could “quickly meet people’s needs and expectations,” You said, adding that Tsai’s biggest mistake was being “blind” to public opinion.
He would also rebuild the party’s image, change its policy priorities and decisionmaking styles, he said.
“The party’s ideology and ways of handling cross-strait relations must evolve with time,” You said.
Tsai’s “status quo” policy makes people fearful and anxious when cross-strait tensions mount, he added.
“I believe the party should hold debates on cross-strait relations so that members can share their concerns, feelings and constructive feedback, which, as an initial step, would definitely bring about positive change,” he said.
The telephone-based poll was based on 1,082 valid samples collected on Monday and Tuesday last week, with responses weighted to fit the population profile. It has a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost