About 64 percent of people said that they supported Premier Cho Jung-tai’s (卓榮泰) self-financed trip to Japan to watch the World Baseball Classic game between Taiwan and the Czech Republic, while about 60 percent reported dissatisfaction with the legislature, a survey from the Taiwan Inspiration Association showed yesterday.
The survey showed that 64.2 percent of respondents expressed support, while 33 percent did not, indicating that a majority of the public approves of the direction of Taiwan-Japan relations, the association said.
The finding came from a Taiwan Public Opinion Survey released at a news conference yesterday.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The poll showed that about 70 percent of respondents said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) was not eligible to serve as a legislator, while 28.8 percent thought she was eligible.
The government believes Li was ineligible to run for office after failing to submit timely proof of forfeiture of her Chinese residency, and she has been unable to formally renounce her Chinese citizenship.
Among TPP supporters, 40.7 percent of respondents said she was ineligible.
Among respondents aged 40 or older, 72.9 percent said she was ineligible, while among Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters, 93.4 percent said she was not eligible, while 64.9 percent of independents held the same view.
National Cheng Kung University political science professor Wang Hung-jen (王宏仁) said the fact that even TPP supporters have doubts about Lee’s eligibility indicates that her voter base is relatively weak.
Soochow University political science associate professor Chen Fang-yu (陳方隅) said that he was concerned that about 30 remained convinced about Li’s eligibility despite her still holding Chinese citizenship.
“In a single-member district two-ballot system, election results can be swayed by controlling 2 to 3 percent of the votes,” Chen said.
The poll showed that public satisfaction with government performance has continued to rise, reaching 57.6 percent — the highest level since the survey began in September last year.
The main sources of dissatisfaction were political infighting (48.3 percent), fraud issues (40.4 percent) and judicial problems (26.5 percent).
By party affiliation, dissatisfaction rates among Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and TPP supporters both reached 70 percent, while only 11.2 percent of DPP supporters expressed dissatisfaction.
On the economic front, 51.4 percent of respondents said the economy is good, while 48.2 percent said it is not.
The legislature was identified as the most unpopular institution, with only 38.6 percent expressing satisfaction and 59.3 percent expressing dissatisfaction.
The primary reason cited for dissatisfaction was that “party interests outweigh national interests.”
Regarding the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.03 billion) special defense budget, 62.7 percent expressed support, while 35.7 percent opposed it.
Among KMT supporters, opposition reached 70 percent, while 54.3 percent of TPP supporters were opposed.
As for the military’s counter-amphibious drills, 56.7 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the government’s efforts to strengthen preparedness, while 42.2 percent were dissatisfied.
The poll was conducted last week among people aged 20 or above nationwide.
A stratified random sampling method was used, with 601 landline and 602 mobile phone samples, totaling 1,203 valid responses. At a 95 percent confidence level, the margin of error was 2.83 percentage points.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS