(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two thirds of people in Taiwan criticize the performance of Ma Ying-jeou, according to a poll by Global Views. 66.3 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with the president’s leadership, up 4.1 points since December.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two thirds of people in Taiwan criticize the performance of Ma Ying-jeou, according to a poll by Global Views. 66.3 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with the president’s leadership, up 4.1 points since December.
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, the People’s Republic of China considers Taiwan a "renegade province" and reserves the right to bring it under control.
In March 2008, Ma won the presidential election with 58.45 per cent of the vote as a candidate for the Kuomintang Party (KMT). Frank Hsieh of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) finished second with 41.55 per cent.
The KMT advocates for maintaining the status quo with the Chinese central government, while the DPP has aggressively pursued independence from Beijing.
On Jan. 27, DPP representatives said in a statement that describing Taiwan as an "area" in the framework of negotiations of a free trade agreement with China amounts to "self castration." The comments were issued one day after delegates from Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China met for this first official round of talks towards securing a bi-lateral commercial agreement.
Polling Data
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with Ma Ying-jeou’s performance as president?
|
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Jan. 2010
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Dec. 2009
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Nov. 2009
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Satisfied
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23.2%
|
23.5%
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28.3%
|
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Dissatisfied
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66.3%
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62.2%
|
61.0%
|
Source: Global Views
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,014 Taiwanese adults, conducted from Jan. 12 to Jan. 14, 2010. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
