TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — DPP Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) narrowly led KMT Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) in a recent poll.
According to a TVBS survey released Thursday, 40.3% of respondents supported Lai, compared with 39.7% for Ko, per UDN. In terms of favorability, 36.5% viewed Ko favorably, while 31% expressed a favorable opinion of Lai.
When asked whether the development gap between the former Kaohsiung County and Kaohsiung City areas had widened, 43.2% of respondents agreed and 34.6% disagreed, per ETtoday. On Ko’s proposal to relocate Kaohsiung City Hall to the former 205th Arsenal site, 28.6% supported the plan while 33.8% opposed it.
Regarding the performance of the DPP-led city government, 68.1% of respondents approved of Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), per UP Media. However, 56.9% said they were concerned about the city’s financial situation.
Kaohsiung City’s debt currently stands at NT$224.3 billion (US$7.1 billion), or roughly NT$83,000 per resident.
The survey was conducted from May 27 to June 2 and included 1,207 respondents. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Commenting on the results, Ko said the increase in support compared with previous polls reflected growing trust among Kaohsiung residents, per Liberty Times. Lai responded that the more important information was who truly stands with the city’s residents, rather than “data that deviates from reality.”
Kaohsiung City Council candidate Tsai Ping-tsung (蔡秉璁) also questioned the poll’s credibility, claiming TVBS initially disclosed the KMT as the survey’s sponsor before removing that information, per Tai Sounds. He noted that other polls have consistently shown Lai leading by 10 to 15 percentage points.
Tsai further speculated that the survey’s extended sampling period may have influenced the results in Ko’s favor.
