The world is becoming a much more dangerous place led by politicians who are too incompetent, dishonest and not trustworthy to deal with the challenges, according to an ambitious survey of global opinion released on Thursday.
In a massive vote of no-confidence in political elites worldwide, the poll of 50,000 people in more than 60 countries found that almost two out of three people considered their leaders to be dishonest while just over half saw them as unethical.
Hong Kong residents trust business leaders less than anyone else in Asia, with more than six out of 10 considering them dishonest, according to the survey.
While 61 percent of Hong Kong respondents distrusted their political leaders, 63 percent said they believed their business leaders were dishonest.
Sixty-one percent of people in Indonesia and 57 percent of people in Taiwan said they distrusted business leaders.
When it comes to political leaders, however, South Koreans are the most distrustful, with 85 percent considering their political leaders to be dishonest.
Second and third places for distrust of politicians were Indonesia with 84 percent and Japan with 73 percent.
The survey found that people in Taiwan are the most pessimistic in Asia about the future, with 59 percent believing economic prosperity will dwindle for the next generation.
That figure compared to 54 percent in Japan, 38 percent of people in the Philippines and 37 percent in Hong Kong.
People in western Europe and the Middle East were particularly gloomy about the prospects for their children, believing they faced less safe and less prosperous lives, offering an apparent thumbs-down to the Bush administration's declared mission of spreading liberty, democracy and prosperity by toppling regimes such as the Taliban and former president Saddam Hussein.
The annual survey claiming to represent the views of 1.2 billion people was conducted last summer by Gallup International for the World Economic Forum, based in Davos, Switzerland.
Klaus Schwab, the founder and chairman of the forum, described the results as a wake-up call for leaders.
"The findings of this comprehensive, global survey send a strong message to the world's leaders. People around the world expect and demand a lot more from their leaders than they receive. They want leaders who are capable of courageous and long-term decisions, acting in the best interests of a global citizenry," he said.
Worldwide, 63 percent of respondents said their political leaders were dishonest, 60 percent said they had too much power, and 52 percent said they were unethical.
Distrust of politicians was higher among those in Latin America, Asia and Africa than Europe or North America.
Characterizing the results as depressing and grim reading for political leaders everywhere, the forum noted that Europeans and the U.S. public appeared more tolerant of politicians' failings than people elsewhere. But Europeans are much more anxious about the future, with Germany, in particular, alarmed at the prospect of eroding wealth and growing insecurity.
The survey described Germany as the most pessimistic country in the world and one of the most critical of its political and business elites. Three out of four Germans, for example, had little confidence in their political leaders while in the Netherlands, the figure was one in 10.
On fears for future security, the west Europeans led the global league, 55 percent believing the next generation would inhabit a more dangerous world. People in the Middle East felt similarly, 54 percent, although the respondents were drawn from only three countries, Turkey, Egypt and Israel.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS