More than three-quarters of Taiwanese have no idea what President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in his New Year address, the results of a government agency survey showed yesterday.
The Cabinet’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission yesterday released the results of the survey, which showed that 77.7 percent of respondents were completely unaware of what Ma said in his address focusing on what the government had done over the past year and his policy plans for the future.
According to the survey, 55.3 percent said the government’s implementation of its cross-strait policies last year were a great achievement for the country, while 32.4 percent disagreed and 12.3 percent had no specific opinion.
Opinions was also divided on the government’s performance in advancing Taiwan’s participation in the international community, with 42.6 percent saying the country had made no progress in this regard, 40.4 percent saying it had and 17 percent expressing no opinion.
Asked whether they thought Taiwan’s image in the international community had changed into that of a peacemaker in East Asia committed to relieving tension across the Taiwan Strait, 52.3 percent of respondents said they did, while 33.6 percent disagreed and 14.1 percent did not give their opinion.
On the government’s handling of the global financial crisis, 57.8 percent said plans to guarantee all bank deposits would help stabilize the nation’s financial situation, while 26.7 percent disagreed and 15.5 percent had no view.
More than 70 percent of the respondents supported Ma’s goals of establishing the nation as a global innovation center, attracting talent to the country, streamlining the government, ensuring administrative neutrality and earmarking money to expand public construction to boost the economy.
The survey showed that 90 percent of the public supported Ma’s policy of preserving land and resources to tackle flooding problems and river pollution, while just 4 percent disagreed.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
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