More than 40 percent of the public believes that the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidates will win in November’s mayoral and county commissioner elections, a poll published yesterday by the Taiwan NextGen Foundation showed.
According to the survey, 45.3 percent believe that the DPP’s candidates will win in the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections, while 49.1 percent think that the party will win the majority of seats across the nation.
The poll showed that overall, 65.1 percent of respondents are satisfied with the administrative performance of the mayor or commissioner in their city or county of residence, while 24.8 percent are dissatisfied.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The highest average satisfaction rate of 67.1 percent was in cities or counties that have a DPP member as an administrative head, followed by 63 percent in areas with a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) head and 60.4 percent in areas with an independent head.
Asked about their voting preference, about 35.9 percent said they would consider voting for the DPP’s candidate, while 27.6 percent said they would consider the KMT’s candidate first.
However, 25.2 percent said they believe the KMT’s candidate will win.
A cross-analysis of the data showed that more than 41 percent intended to support the party that the mayor or commissioner of their city or county of residence is a member of.
In areas with independent administrative heads — Taipei and Hualien and Kinmen counties, the party support rates showed a fairly even distribution among the DPP (24.6 percent), the KMT (25.7 percent) and independents (24.5 percent).
The survey found that 33.6 percent would prefer voting for the DPP’s candidate, 28.5 percent for the KMT’s candidate and 4.9 percent would prefer independent candidates.
Former DPP spokeswoman Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶), who is to run in the party’s primary for a city councilor seat in Taipei’s Zhongzheng (中正) and Wanhua (萬華) districts, said it seems that most people will vote for DPP or KMT candidates.
However, about 8.4 percent of respondents said they would support third-party or independent candidates in the councilor elections and this combined force might have a big influence on the councilors’ votes, she said, adding that many of the candidates are aged between 25 and 35 and have entered politics through the Sunflower movement.
Foundation chairman Wang Zhin-sheng (王智盛) said that nearly 30 percent of pan-green camp supporters were unwilling to name their preferred party in the election, which might indicate that they are waiting to see the DPP’s nominee for the Taipei mayoral election.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net