Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters appeared to be struggling with the party’s position toward Beijing as a considerable percentage of them agreed that a revised and more moderate China policy would likely increase the party’s chances of returning to power, a survey released yesterday showed.
Of the respondents who identified themselves as DPP supporters in a public opinion poll conducted by Taiwan Indicators Survey Research (TISR), 39.5 percent said that it is necessary for the party to formulate a “more moderate” China policy, while 23.3 percent deemed it unnecessary and 8.7 percent preferred a more conservative policy.
If the DPP pledged that it would not change the nation’s name, the national anthem, the national flag or draft a new Constitution, 51.9 percent of DPP supporters said the party’s chances of returning to power would increase, while 29.2 percent said its chances would remain unchanged and 3.9 percent said that its chances would decrease.
If the party announced its acceptance of the Constitution and the so-called “1992 consensus,” 44.9 percent of DPP supporters responded that would increase the party’s chances of winning the next presidential election, while 24.3 percent said its chances would stay the same and 17.1 percent said that the party’s chances would decrease.
The percentage of the DPP supporters who predicted positive results if the party adopted a more moderate China policy or thought the policy should be fine-tuned was higher than that of the general public.
However, the percentage of DPP supporters who said they found the party “more credible” following the policy change was lower than that of the general public, according to TISR.
“It seems to me that DPP supporters are caught in a paradox, as they see the change critical for winning back power, but would find the party less trustworthy if it did,” TISR general manager Tai Li-an (戴立安) said in a press release.
The survey, which ran from Monday to Wednesday, had 1,000 valid samples and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to