TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- In the latest poll conducted by ETtoday, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has pulled further ahead, with 43.4 percent of respondents now supporting her, while itinerant Kaohsiung mayor and full-time Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was ranked as the most hated politician with 59.5 percent of the electorate expressing disapproval.
In ETtoday's latest internet survey, which was conducted from Monday to Tuesday (Sept. 9 to 10), Tsai received the support of 43.4 percent of respondents, while Han only garnered the backing of 27.1 percent of survey participants in a two-way race. Compared to the previous poll conducted on Aug. 26, Tsai rose by 2.6 percent, while Han dropped by 4.2 percent, with the gap between the two widening to 16.3 percent.
In a three-way race between Tsai, Han, and an alliance of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Foxconn tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘), and former KMT Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Tsai still came out on top, with 35.4 percent of respondents opting for her, followed by 30.8 percent choosing a Ko-Gou-Wang ticket, and Han pulling up the rear, with 24.6 percent selecting the itinerant mayor. This represents an increase of 5.4 percent for Tsai, a drop of 3.5 percent for Han, and a decrease of 2.0 percent for Ko-Gou-Wang, and marks the first time support for Tsai has surpassed the three-way alliance.
When respondents were asked to list their favorite politician, 37.2 percent opted for Tsai, 33.4 percent chose Ko, and New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Gou tied for third place at 29.9 percent. Holding up the rear were former New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) at 25.9 percent and Han in sixth place at 25.0 percent.
As for the most-hated politician, Han easily took the top spot, with 59.5 percent finding him the most loathsome, trailed far behind by Tsai at 44.1 percent and KMT Chairman Wu Den-Yih (吳敦義) in third place at 42.9 percent. Other notable politicians on the most-hated list included Ko in sixth place at 21.8 percent and Gou in ninth place with 18.1 percent.
The poll was conducted over the internet and gathered 3,302 valid samples. It was found to have a sampling error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent.
