Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) would beat opponent Sean Lien (連勝文) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KTM) by a margin of 13 percentage points if next month’s Taipei mayoral election were held now, according to a survey released yesterday.
The opinion poll conducted by the Chinese-language United Daily News showed that 42 percent of the Taipei voters surveyed favor Ko, while 29 percent support Lien and 26 percent of remain undecided or would not reveal their preference, with the remaining 3 percent backing one of the other five candidates registered in the race.
Of the people interviewed for the survey conducted in the middle of the month, 40 percent said they believe Ko would win the election on Nov. 29, while 31 percent expect Lien to be elected and 28 percent said they did not know.
Although he is running as an independent, Ko has long been seen as a member of the pan-green camp led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has endorsed the 55-year-old’s campaign instead of fielding its own candidate.
That perception was reflected in the poll numbers, which showed that Ko had the backing of 85 percent of the respondents who said they leaned politically toward the DPP and its smaller allies.
The National Taiwan University Hospital surgeon also had a 31 percentage-point edge (45 percent to 14 percent) over the 44-year-old Lien among independent voters, who could prove decisive in the contest in Taipei, a traditional KMT stronghold.
Among the respondents who said they favor the politics of the KMT and minor like-minded parties, 69 percent support Lien.
More than 1,000 voters registered in Taipei were interviewed for the survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus-3 percent.
Both candidates are running for public office for the first time as they bid to succeed Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who will step down in December after serving two four-year terms.
The KMT has held the city since 1998.
Of the five other candidates in the mayoral race, none is expected to win more than 2 percent of the vote, the poll found.
In the last Taipei mayoral election in 2010, Hau secured a second term by defeating DPP candidate and former chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) by a 12 percentage-point margin.
However, the United Daily News said that the KMT’s candidate faces an uphill struggle this time because of Lien’s image as someone owing his successes to his wealthy background and also because of general discontent over the KMT government’s performance on such national issues as food safety and education.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS