TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, TPOF, poll released on Friday found that 58.4% of respondents support an act passed by the Legislative Yuan that adds five new public national holidays. 

Under the act, Labor Day will be upgraded, while four additional public holidays have been added: Little Lunar New Year’s Eve, Confucius’ Birthday, Retrocession Day (Battle of Guningtou), and Constitution Day. When asked whether they support these additional holidays, the results showed:

• 27.4% strongly support
• 31% somewhat support
• 18.8% somewhat oppose
• 13.4% strongly oppose
• 7.5% no opinion
• 1.9% don’t know

The TPOF said this shows the majority of the public welcomes the decision to add new national holidays.

The foundation assessed that the opposition parties have landed a solid hit in winning over public opinion. Opposition party supporters overwhelmingly backed the holiday legislation, while DPP supporters were sharply divided:

• Among DPP supporters, 45% support and 48% oppose.
• Among KMT supporters, 72% support and 20% oppose.
• Among TPP supporters, 83% support and 13% oppose.
• Among neutral voters, 53% support and 31% oppose.

All occupational groups favored adding the new national holidays. Rank-and-file white-collar workers showed the highest level of support at 69%:

• Self-employed/business owners: 53% support, 43% oppose
• Senior white-collar workers: 61% support, 32% oppose
• Rank-and-file white-collar workers: 69% support, 26% oppose
• Civil servants/teachers/public sector employees: 63% support, 33% oppose
• Laborers: 63% support, 28% oppose
• Farmers: 55% support, 29% oppose
• Students: 67% support, 29% oppose
• Homemakers: 47% support, 34% oppose
• Retirees: 48% support, 40% oppose

Except for those aged 65 and older, all age groups overwhelmingly support the new national holidays. The highest level of support was among young adults:

• Ages 20–24: 75% support, 18% oppose
• Ages 25–34: 67% support, 27% oppose
• Ages 35–44: 63% support, 30% oppose
• Ages 45–54: 70% support, 26% oppose
• Ages 55–64: 54% support, 40% oppose
• Ages 65 and older: 39% support, 40% oppose

Except for those with a junior high school education or below, all other education levels overwhelmingly support the new national holidays. People with a junior college education showed the highest level of support, while those with an elementary school education or lower were evenly split.

• University degree or above: 64% support, 29% oppose
• Junior college: 66% support, 31% oppose
• High school/vocational school: 62% support, 33% oppose
• Junior high school: 44% support, 42% oppose
• Elementary school or below: 35% support, 35% oppose

Across all 16 cities/counties in the six major metropolitan areas, the TPOF said there is an overwhelming consensus in support, regardless of urbanization level.

The survey was conducted from May 12 to 14, targeting adults aged 20 and above nationwide. The survey used a dual-frame random sampling method combining 70% landline and 30% mobile phone calls. 

The effective sample size was 1,080 respondents, including 756 via landline and 324 mobile. The sampling error is around ±2.98 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.