The popularity of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) is on the rise, according to a survey conducted by Shih Hsin University.
The poll, conducted on Dec. 15 and 16, suggested that the public's overall satisfaction with Chen and Lu has increased since Chen assumed the presidency one and half years ago.
The survey showed that 43.79 percent approved of Chen's performance. Those expressing their support for Chen pointed to his determination to stamp out "black gold." However, 46.48 percent did not approve of the president's performance, citing Chen's record in the economic arena.
The poll also showed that in regions such as Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Ilan and Hualien counties, approval for Chen's performance had surged to over 50 percent.
But in areas such as Taipei City, Taipei County, Hsinchu City, Miaoli County, Taichung City, Chiayi City and Taitung County, Chen's approval rating stood at less than 50 percent.
Regarding the performance of Lu, 44.35 percent showed dissatisfaction while 28.91 percent said they were satisfied.
Meanwhile, 41.84 percent said they were satisfied with Premier Chang Chun-hsiung's (張俊雄) performance and 43.97 percent said otherwise.
In regard to Cabinet members, the poll found that Chen Ding-nan (陳定南), minister of justice, Hao Lung-bin (郝龍斌), head of the Environmental Protection Administration, and Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗), minister of education, ranked in the top three places for public support with approval ratings of 73.44 percent, 69.46 percent and 65.94 percent respectively.
On the other hand, the poll suggested that Lin Hsin-i (林信義), minister of economic affairs, Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章), minister of finance, and Chen Chih-huang (陳希煌), chairman of the Council of Agriculture under the Executive Yuan, occupied the last three places with a public approval ratings of 58.25 percent, 60.03 percent and 60.91 percent.
The poll also found that a near-majority of people felt that Chen's administration did not perform as well as the government it replaced. According to the survey, 40.17 percent felt the old government performed better than the new one, while 27.36 percent believed the reverse was true. Another 23.1 percent said there was no difference between the two governments.
The survey polled 1,078 people over the age of 20 selected at random from 23 cities and counties nationwide.
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