The majority of people oppose imports of US meat containing ractopamine, but remain optimistic about Taiwan-US relations, survey results released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found.
Foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) designed the questions, and commissioned Focus Survey Research to conduct the survey by telephone.
Respondents were asked about a variety of major issues, which also included Taiwan-China relations, and public approval of the president and premier.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Of the respondents, 66.3 percent opposed imports of meat products containing ractopamine, while 28.2 percent approved, the foundation said.
However, the survey found that 60 percent of Democratic Progressive Party supporters approved of the imports, while 32 percent did not.
Among Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters, only 2.4 percent approved of the imports, and 97 percent opposed them.
Among the Taiwan People’s Party supporters who were surveyed, 15 percent approved of the imports and 85 percent disapproved, while 12 percent of New Power Party supporters approved and 79 percent disapproved.
Among those who had no political affiliation, 19 percent of respondents approved of the imports, while 74 percent opposed them.
The survey also found that 54.3 percent of respondents supported a referendum drive initiated by KMT lawmakers to reinstitute a ban on meat products containing ractopamine, while 36.1 percent did not.
Nearly all of the respondents aged 65 or under were in support of the referendum, while half of those above the age of 65 backed it, the foundation said.
Of the respondents, 51.3 percent said that they approved of how President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was dealing with major issues, while 37.4 percent said that they did not.
Regarding Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) overall performance, 52.3 percent said that they were happy with it, while 41.7 percent were dissatisfied.
Sixty-five percent of respondents said that they were not concerned that the relationship between Taiwan and the US would regress following the inauguration of US President Joe Biden, while 28 percent said they had such concerns.
On the issue of whether authorities should strive for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN, 79 percent said that they should, while 15 percent said they should not.
Meanwhile, 67 percent of the respondents said they disagreed that the Taiwan-China relationship was more important than Taiwan’s relations with other countries, while 26 percent said that it was.
Of the 67 percent, 37 percent said that they “strongly disagreed,” while of the 26 percent, 12 percent “strongly agreed.”
Half of respondents supported formal Taiwanese independence, while 14 percent said that they hoped Taiwan would eventually be unified with China, and 25 percent hoped that the “status quo” would be maintained.
The survey, conducted on Monday and Tuesday last week, collected 1,081 valid questionnaires and had a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to