PFP poll shows discontent

More than 60 percent of people surveyed by the PFP disapproved of the way President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) spoke of Taiwan's political situation while he was on a goodwill trip to four African allies, the party said yesterday. The survey, conducted by the party's policy center, showed that 21 percent of respondents who responded said they saw nothing wrong with the president criticizing his political rivals in Taiwan when he was touring Africa. Seventy-seven percent of respondents said they believed the country is conducting checkbook diplomacy, or buying friendship with generous aid, according to the survey. More than 60 percent of those surveyed said they don't think the president's African trip will help Taiwan's sagging economy.