President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has seen his approval rating nearly halved since his May 20 inauguration because of public anger over the nation’s deteriorating economy, a newspaper poll published yesterday found.
The telephone poll of 1,029 adults by the United Daily News showed that satisfaction with Ma has dropped from 66 percent on his inauguration day to its lowest level, 37 percent, on Tuesday.
Of those respondents who said they were discontented with Ma, 32 percent said he had failed to revive Taiwan’s economy, 21 percent thought he was not bold enough in his administration, while the rest said Ma’s policies changed too often and he was too soft in dealing with China.
However, 54 percent of those polled said Ma has the ability to run the country, while 32 percent said he lacks the ability to lead Taiwan.
During his election campaign, Ma promised that if he won, he would raise Taiwan’s annual economic growth rate to 6 percent, keep the jobless rate below 3 percent and raise per capita income to US$30,000.
The government’s forecast for this year’s economic growth is 4.3 percent, but several international financial institutions predicted that growth in Taiwan’s GDP would slow to 2 percent or even lower next year.
Also, a government survey released yesterday showed that 50.6 percent of the public disapproved of Ma’s performance, while the disapproval rate of Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) was 53.5 percent.
The survey was conducted by the Cabinet’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission last Monday and Tuesday.
The poll, which surveyed 1,089 effective samples from adults aged over 20 nationwide, found 43.2 percent of respondents approved of Ma’s performance so far, down from 47 percent in a poll the commission conducted in August after Ma’s first three months in office.
The poll released yesterday showed that 50.6 percent were displeased with Ma’s performance, higher than the 36.3 percent in the August poll.
The poll also showed Liu’s approval rate dropped from 41.9 percent in August to 37.7 percent this month, while his disapproval rate surged from 37.9 percent in August to 53.5 percent this month.
The survey showed that 48.9 percent of the respondents said they believed Liu would do a better job in the future, while 32.4 percent of the respondents did not.
When asked whether they were satisfied with the overall performance of the government, the disapproval rate went from 39 percent in August to 54.7 percent this month, while the approval rate went from 44 percent to 40.2 percent.
However, the survey also showed that 54 percent of the respondents said they believed the government performed better in the last three months than in its first three months in office.
According to the survey, 52.7 percent of respondents were satisfied with the government’s cross-strait relations, while 41.4 percent were dissatisfied. Sixty-four percent of the respondents were satisfied with government policies in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and reducing energy consumption, while 29 percent were dissatisfied.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
RSS