Slightly more than half of Kaohsiung City residents are satisfied with Mayor Chen Chu's (陳菊) performance over the past year, results of a poll released yesterday showed.
The survey, conducted by a pollster company between Dec. 16 and Wednesday at the behest of the municipal government's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, showed that 51.3 percent of respondents were satisfied with Chen's performance, up from 34.9 percent in a similar poll conducted in March.
Chen was sworn in as mayor on Dec. 25 last year.
A commission official said that 76.5 percent of respondents were proud of being Kaohsiung residents, while 69.8 percent believed the city has a promising future.
More than 64 percent of respondents said that they were pleased with the performance of the city government, up slightly from 61.7 percent in the March survey, the official said.
Respondents said they were most satisfied with the city government's efforts to improve the city's image and promote tourism, while expressing the highest dissatisfaction on law and order, the economy and road conditions, the official said.
Chen's approval rating has been on a steady rise since March, breaking the 50 percent mark for the first time this month, the official said, adding that this indicated that her intensive efforts had won the recognition of city residents.
Chen, for her part, said she pays great attention to residents' level of satisfaction with the various aspects of the city and her administration, describing any dissatisfaction among residents as a force driving her administration to make progress.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS