The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged supporters to show patience after the popularity of its presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), declined in a public opinion poll.
Hou’s support rating fell from 26 percent to 18.3 percent, the lowest among the three presidential hopefuls declared so far, a monthly poll by my-formosa.com showed on Monday.
Support for Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, rose marginally from 35.4 percent to 35.8 percent, while Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate and Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) support rose from 22 percent to 25.9 percent.
Photo: Chueh Ching-lun, Taipei Times
Separately, a TVBS poll published this month showed that support for Hou stood at 30 percent, while support for Lai was 27 percent.
A TVBS poll two months earlier showed Hou with support of 32 percent and Lai with 28 percent.
KMT spokesman Lin Chia-hsing (林家興) yesterday said that Hou’s popularity should improve in light of his recent comments regarding the death penalty and the nation’s energy policy.
Hou on Monday said he believes nuclear power should be on the table for Taiwan and that he has always supported the death penalty.
The party headquarters studied the data and expect Hou’s statements to inspire support from base and swing voters, Lin said.
Asked whether the KMT’s failure so far to integrate support for Hon Hai Technology Group founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), who failed to secure the KMT’s presidential nomination, has negatively affected Hou’s popularity, Lin said the situation is out of the party leadership’s hands.
The KMT has open lines of communication with Gou and continues to hope that he will work with it to bring down the DPP administration, Lin said.
Separately yesterday, Hou refused to directly respond to reporters’ questions about his apparent drop in support.
“What is important is that we must identify issues that trouble people and ease their suffering with effective policies,” Hou said.
“We hope to build a peaceful, stable, prosperous and orderly nation,” he said. “I will brief you all on national policies concerning these points at a later time.”
Asked to comment on rumors that the KMT might replace him as its presidential candidate if his support continues to remain below 20 percent, Hou said: “We will remain united in the face of any problems, and work ceaselessly for the city with all our effort.”
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS