(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in Taiwan disagree with the administration of president Ma Ying-jeou, according to a poll by Global Views. 64.5 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with Ma’s performance in office.

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 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 Sept. 27, Ma praised the legacy of Chiang Wei-shui, an anti-imperialist activist and founder of the Taiwanese Cultural Association and the Taiwanese People’s Party who died in 1931. Ma called Chiang "a great man of Taiwan," adding, "A lot of people talk about how to promote Taiwanese identity and win respect from the international community; one way to do it is to study Chiang Wei-shui."

Polling Data

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the performance of Ma Ying-jeou as president?

Source: Global Views
Methodology: Interviews with 1,002 Taiwanese adults, conducted from Sept. 15 to Sept. 18, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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