A Reader’s Digest survey conducted at the end of last year showed Taiwanese trust religious leaders, artists, business leaders, chefs and athletes more than President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
The magazine surveyed the “trustworthiness” of 80 public figures. The founder of Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Master Cheng Yen (證嚴法師), ranked as the most trusted, followed by Asian-American forensic expert Henry Lee (李昌鈺) and then Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (李安).
Well-known chef Cheng Yen-chi (鄭衍基) — better known as Ah-chi-shih (阿基師, Chef Ah-Chi), Buddhist Master Hsing Yun (星雲法師), Major League Baseball player Wang Chien-ming (王建民) and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre founder Lin Huai-min (林懷民) were among the top 35, along with several business leaders.
Ma ranked 37th, behind supermodel and actress Lin Chiling (林志玲) at No. 33, and other celebrities such as Momoko Tao (陶晶瑩), pop diva A-mei (張惠妹) and singer Wang Lee-hom (王力宏).
Liou Wei-gong (劉維公), an associate professor of sociology at Soochow University, said the results reflect the emotional connection Taiwanese have with these public figures.
“People feel emotionally more connected to those celebrities who represent a positive force in society or insist on their ideals, such as Wang Chien-ming,” Liou said. “However, people feel that politicians are more devious.”
The survey results also show the public’s distrust of politicians in general, he said.
“Although people have different expectations of politicians and celebrities, politicians still play a key role in the development of society, so I don’t think it’s a good thing that politicians have low trust ratings,” the professor said.
The professor said politicians might want to take the survey results as a reference for their future behavior.
People between the ages of 35 to 49 were surveyed for the poll, with 760 valid samples collected.
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