Some good news on the polling front. The Taipei Times reports...The three most chosen descriptions of Ma’s brand were all negative, with 60.6 percent of participants saying Ma was “over-packaged,” 53.3 percent saying his abilities were “exaggerated” and 38.5 percent seeing him as “an expired, deteriorating product” in the survey conducted by research firm Taiwan Indicators Survey Research.Some of you may recall that Global Views Survey Research Center shut down its political polling in October of 2011 in a move that was widely seen as kowtowing to the ruling party because its polls were showing that Tsai was ahead of Ma. The poll, though stiffly pro-Blue, was widely respected. Now that team is back in business with a new business.
The newly established company, headed by former Global Views Survey Research Center director Tai Li-an (戴立安), released its first Taiwan Mood Barometer Survey, which Tai said would be conducted twice a month and cover various economic and political issues.
As for the actual numbers, Ma is likely to be unpopular for a while until his satisfaction numbers creep back up into the 30s, more or less the norm. If Ma's unpopularity persists, it might lead to losses in local elections, as happened in the run-up to the presidential election, but it wouldn't mean anything as far as his getting elected again, assuming he could run, but he can't....
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.
Ma being unpopular is isn't good news, that Ma is unpopular isn't really any news at all. I have spoken to dozens of Tawianese of all pursuasions and most of them voted KMT while holding their noses. They don't like Ma but considered him the lesser evil. Most Taiwanese I've spoken to believe the DPP will bring Taiwan back to the Chen era and they want to avoid that at all costs, including voting for the despised Ma.
ReplyDeleteLoving the photography!
ReplyDeleteNice portrait.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Ma is above changing the rules to allow him to run for a third term? Hell, we were sure we'd seen the last of Jason Hu but boy, were we wrong!
ReplyDeleteThe lesser of the two evils has always been KMT up to this point. Most media outlets in Taiwan are pro-KMT/blue camp, and have produced the image that Chen's presidency was the worst thing that ever happened to people in Taiwan. The same media has cultivated the positive image of Ma Ying-jeou for decades. People in Taiwan today always talk about politics as if Taiwan's history began in 2000. This framing erases all the corruption and authoritarian rule by KMT, Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Ching-kuo, and good and bad things done by Lee Teng-hui.
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Anonymous (3:48),
While I agree with you, there was plenty of corruption and anti-democratic actions by the KMT post 2000.
I simply give up when it comes to the Taiwanese doing what is right. Short-term interests trump in Taiwan.
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@ STOP Ma,
ReplyDeleteOver the years I start to understand politics -- thanks to Taiwanese. I new learned that the election is not about right or wrong, not about good or evil, not about any ideology.
It's nothing else but war --- you gather the info, study the enemy, research what people's voting behaviors are, evaluate what weapons you have, and execute the best you can do while knowing all the above.
Just like any war between two rivals in any time of human history !!! Only the winner preserves the right to define what's right and what's wrong.
So, is it so critical what the voter behaviors are ? Not really. You just lay out a plan based on your understanding on the enemy and people. If you think people are smart, make a plan suitable for smart people. If you think they are dumb, make a plan suitable for dummies. The plan of war should always reviewed and revised according to the changing situations of war.
@Taiwan Echo: Not too different from Repubs and Dems...
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