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President Ma Drops Sharply in Taiwan
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou has seen an evident drop in his popularity, according to a poll by United Daily News. 37 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Ma’s performance, down 10 points since September.
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 Nov. 19, government spokeswoman Vanessa Yea-ping Shih announced an economic stimulus package worth close to $15 billion U.S. The plan seeks to increase Taiwan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 1.64 percentage points for 2009. Taiwanese premier Liu Chao-shiuan warned: "Because of the global economic situation, it is hard to see any economic rebound anytime soon. I will continue my efforts and I hope the legislature can push through the budget."
Polling Data
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the performance of Ma Ying-jeou as president?
|
Nov. 2008 |
Sept. 2008 |
|
|
Satisfied |
37% |
47% |
|
Dissatisfied |
46% |
37% |
|
Not sure |
17% |
16% |
Source: United Daily News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,029 Taiwanese adults, conducted on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.