Nearly 80 percent of respondents in a survey released by the New Power Party (NPP) yesterday said that Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) should remain in charge of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The survey, which was partly designed to evaluate the approval ratings of politicians in the current administration, found that Chen, who is combating the spread of COVID-19, has an approval rating of 79.9 percent.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) have approval ratings of 75.7 percent and 74.9 percent respectively, the poll showed.
Photo: CNA
The results showed that the public regards the government’s performance highly, particularly concerning its effectiveness in containing the COVID-19 outbreak, the NPP said.
The results showed that, as most people want Chen to maintain his position on the front line, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) was unwise to propose that he be replaced with someone else, said Trend Survey and Research Co general manager Wu Shih-chang (吳世昌), who was in charge of administrating the survey.
In response, the TPP yesterday said that it would accept criticism with an open mind.
Of the respondents, 95.9 percent said that the economy has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and 71 percent of those think that the effect has been enormous.
On the issue of relief measures, 41.1 percent of respondents said that a tax deduction would be a big help, while 38.2 percent of respondents said that a cash rebate would help more.
The survey was conducted on Monday and Tuesday last week. It collected 1,085 valid samples and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
The results were weighted based on gender, age and education, the NPP said.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS