(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A presidential candidate running with the opposition Kuomintang Nationalist Party (KMT) could become the next president of Taiwan, according to a poll by United Daily News. 56 per cent of respondents would vote for Ma Ying-jeou and running mate Vincent Siew in the upcoming election, up four points since December.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A presidential candidate running with the opposition Kuomintang Nationalist Party (KMT) could become the next president of Taiwan, according to a poll by United Daily News. 56 per cent of respondents would vote for Ma Ying-jeou and running mate Vincent Siew in the upcoming election, up four points since December.
Frank Hsieh and running mate Su Tseng-chang of the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are second with 18 per cent, down five points in two months. One-in-four respondents remain undecided.
In 1895, following a military defeat, China ceded Taiwan to Japan. At the end of World War II, the island was returned to Chinese control. In 1949, as Mao Zedong’s communists were gaining prominence in Mainland China, Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek established the Republic of China in Taiwan. A series of democratic reforms implemented by Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui in the early 1990s allowed Taiwan’s residents to take part in free and fair elections. To this date, Mainland China considers Taiwan a "renegade province" and reserves the right to bring it under control.
DPP member Chen Shui-bian was first elected president in 2000. In March 2004, he earned a second term in an election marred by controversy after an apparent assassination attempt.
Last month, the KMT and its partners won 85 seats in the 113-member Legislative Yuan. The KMT advocates for maintaining the status quo with the Chinese central government, while the DPP has aggressively pursued independence from Beijing.
On Feb. 18, Hsieh said he would break away from Chen’s pro-independence policies if elected, saying, "I will invite [Chinese president] Hu Jintao to visit Taiwan, Kinmen, if I’m elected. (…) I would like to negotiate with Hu on common economic development. I would like to put controversies aside."
Taiwan’s presidential election is scheduled for Mar. 22.
Polling Data
Which of these tickets would you vote for in the next presidential election?
|
Feb. 2008 |
Dec. 2007 |
Oct. 2007 |
|
|
Ma Ying-jeou / Vincent Siew (KMT) |
56% |
52% |
50% |
|
Frank Hsieh / Su Tseng-chang (DPP) |
18% |
23% |
25% |
|
Undecided |
26% |
25% |
25% |
Source: United Daily News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,023 Taiwanese adults, conducted on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
