Most Taiwanese say they know little about the cross-strait service trade agreement, but a majority oppose it, a survey by Chinese-language magazine Business Week showed yesterday.
A total of 80.9 percent of respondents said they do not have sufficient knowledge about the pact, which the government said will improve cross-strait service exchanges, the survey indicated, after earlier pacts cut taxes on hundreds of bilateral exports.
“The findings suggest a communication failure on the part of the government as hundreds of students occupy the legislature to demand a transparent review,” Shih Hsin University finance professor Kuo Nai-fong (郭迺鋒) told a media briefing.
Overall, 56.3 percent of respondents opposed the pact, while 22.3 percent supported it, the survey showed, after polling 1,079 Taiwanese aged 20 and older.
Among respondents with a neutral political stance, 51.5 percent disapproved of the pact, while 83 percent of opposition supporters utterly rejected it, the survey found. The pact had the backing of 50.6 percent of pan-blue respondents.
Worries about potential job losses accounted for the resistance, especially among students, the survey showed.
About 70 percent of student respondents withheld their support over concern that the pact would make job-hunting more difficult.
Whatever their political affiliations, 76.1 percent of the respondents lent support to the students’ plea that the pact return to committee review before heading to final readings, the survey said.
In addition, 64.9 percent of the respondents supported the student occupation of the legislative chamber as the move has helped raise public awareness of an important policy, the survey said.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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