Nearly two-thirds, or 63.8 percent, of Taiwanese are dissatisfied with the government’s policy of allowing imports of pork containing traces of ractopamine, a poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed.
The survey found that 27.6 percent of respondents were satisfied with the policy.
Asked if they would support overturning the policy in a referendum, 62.3 percent of respondents said “yes,” while 30.8 percent said “no,” the foundation said.
According to the poll, 62.4 percent said they would likely vote in a referendum over the matter, while 33.4 percent said they would not.
A referendum question spearheaded by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) would ask voters on Aug. 28 if they agree that the government should completely ban imports of meat, offal and related products from pigs fed ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing additive.
Another referendum that might take place on the same day proposes moving a planned liquefied natural gas terminal from the coast of Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) to protect algal reefs in the area. The signature drive for the referendum is being led by Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng (潘忠政).
According to the poll, 53.8 percent of respondents said they would like to see an algal reef referendum pass, while 24.9 percent said they would not.
Of the respondents, 51.4 percent said they would vote in such a referendum, while 34.5 percent said they would not.
The two referendums have an overlapping supporter base and those voting for one would likely vote for the other as well, the foundation said.
The poll also asked respondents about the government’s COVID-19 vaccine policies, with 62 percent saying they were satisfied with the policies and 30.4 percent saying they were not.
According to the poll, 74.4 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the vaccine purchase program proposed by Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), while 15.2 percent said they were not.
The poll found that 68.6 percent of respondents said they were confident that Taiwan would produce its own COVID-19 vaccines, while 24.2 percent said they were not.
Asked whether Taiwan should avoid using the phrase “Wuhan virus” to refer to COVID-19, 49 percent of the respondents said “no,” while 37 percent said “yes.”
Popular support for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was 58.4 percent, while her dissatisfaction rate was 27.1 percent, the poll found.
Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) popular support and dissatisfaction rates were 54.4 percent and 33.1 percent respectively, it showed.
The poll questions were designed by foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) and conducted by the Focus Survey Research company on Monday and Tuesday last week.
The poll collected 1,079 valid samples and has a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
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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