Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday expressed optimism that the latest local governance survey by the Chinese-language CommonWealth magazine could boost the chances of DPP candidates in the upcoming special municipality elections.
The poll, released on Tuesday, showed that local DPP administrators enjoyed higher approval ratings than their Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) counterparts. All six municipalities that received the top marks in the survey were governed by DPP politicians.
In contrast, 16 of the lowest rated municipalities were controlled by KMT members, the most notable being Taichung under Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) — which fell to 18th place this year from a top five place a year ago.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) was ranked in the bottom five with an approval rating of just over 50 percent.
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), a DPP chief strategist for the November elections, said: “It shows that at least compared with the KMT, DPP politicians work harder and are better able to fulfill voter expectations.”
“Of course the high ranking doesn’t mean that the administrations are perfect or that there are no problems — so I hope that DPP mayors and commissioners will remain humble and continue to do their best,” he said.
The annual poll, which gave its lowest marks to KMT Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) — who is not running for re-election — wrote that KMT politicians had a lower rating overall because of factors including a failure to keep up with public opinion and concerns about rapid changes in cross-strait relations.
Topping the survey were Kaohsiung Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) with an approval rating of 80 percent, Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) with 75 percent and Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) with 72 percent.
Rounding up the rest of the top six were Pingtung County, Tainan City and Chiayi County.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said the results showed how the public understood that the opposition party provided better local governance teams.
Speaking on the survey’s implications for the Nov. 27 elections, she said: “We have to remember that when it comes to local elections, voters choose their politicians on how well they can govern. The DPP will continue our ‘Green Assurance Guarantee,’ — which voters are now starting to recognize.”
The KMT, meanwhile, defended the performance of its politicians. KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday said that Taipei City received top scores in another survey on level of happiness of residents in their cities and counties, and defended Hau’s administrative performance.
“The survey results showed that KMT local government heads work hard, but don’t know how to promote their municipal achievements,” he said.
Hau yesterday blamed his poor performance on the controversy over purchase plans for the Xinsheng Overpass project. He acknowledged this had affected his rating, but stressed his determination to boost his support through continuous hard work.
KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said the party is stepping up efforts to campaign for candidates in the five special municipalities and remained optimistic about the elections.
On Hau’s low approval rating, King said polls conducted by the KMT showed that Hau was still ahead of DPP counterpart Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), and the party had already advised the Hau team to enhance communication with the residents before the elections.
“As the mayor of the nation’s capital city, he has to face the toughest examination from the public, and we are confident that Mayor Hau will pass the exam,” he said.
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