About 80 percent of respondents to a recent poll expressed support for demands made by students protesting against the controversial cross-strait service trade agreement that the government conduct a review of the treaty after new laws are enacted to monitor cross-strait agreements.
The survey was conducted by the Chinese-language Liberty Times’ (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) polling center through a random telephone sampling of 1,087 Taiwanese aged 20 or above on Monday and Tuesday — shortly after the government’s forced eviction of protesters occupying the Executive Yuan building.
The occupation of the nation’s highest administrative organ followed the unprecedented ongoing seizure of the legislative chamber by a group of students, who have urged the government to institutionalize supervision of cross-strait agreements and conduct a clause-by-clause review of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
As the occupation of the legislature entered its ninth day yesterday, neither President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) nor Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) have given an unequivocal response to the demands.
When asked about their opinion on the demands, about 80 percent of the respondents said they supported them, compared with 9.94 percent who opposed them.
When asked if the Ma administration should abrogate and renegotiate the trade agreement, about 75 percent of those polled were in favor of the idea, while 15.82 percent disapproved and 9.2 percent said they had no opinion.
Meanwhile, about 70 percent of the respondents expressed support for the student-led protests against the trade agreement, which has been called a “backroom deal” between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and China’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) due to the Ma administration’s failure to communicate with concerned industries before the treaty was signed on June 21 last year.
Only 20 percent of those polled were not supportive of what has been dubbed the “Sunflower Student Movement,” while 9.2 percent declined to express an opinion.
Asked about their feelings on the government’s forcible eviction of protesters who broke into the Executive Yuan building on Sunday night, approximately 53 percent of the respondents said the police had clearly overstepped their boundaries, compared with 34 percent who said the police handled the situation “properly” and about 13 percent who do not have an opinion.
The riot police resorted to force and water cannons to disperse the protesters, which led to violent clashes and bloodshed, with about 110 people injured.
The poll has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 2.97 percentage points.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
ENHANCING DETERRENCE: Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and China’s coastal areas without any logistical difficulties Japan is to deploy extended-range anti-ship missiles at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto to bolster its defenses, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday. The upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, with a range of more than 1,000km, would be capable of striking targets in the Taiwan Strait and along China’s coast. Originally limited to a few hundred kilometers, the Type 12 was recently modernized ahead of schedule. Deployment, initially slated for next year, has been accelerated after the upgrade was completed sooner than expected, the newspaper said. Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu
RSS