By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Most people oppose the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and the importation of US pork containing ractopamine, a public opinion poll found yesterday.
The survey, released by Taiwan Indicator Survey Research (TISR), found that 59.6 percent of respondents oppose the construction of the nuclear power plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), with only 26.1 percent expressing support and 14.3 percent saying they had no opinion.
A further data breakdown found that most residents in northern Taiwan, where three active or unfinished nuclear power plants are located, were against the construction.
In New Taipei City, 67 percent of respondents said they opposed construction of the plant, while 59.8 percent of respondents in Taipei held the same view.
Supporters of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) expressed a higher level of support for the plant, with 50.2 percent in favor of its construction, according to TISR general manager Tai Li-an (戴立安).
The poll also found that 78.6 percent of respondents oppose the importation of US pork containing ractopamine, while 12.1 percent support such a move.
The issue is likely to be raised by Washington in the upcoming Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), who was inaugurated after the Lunar New Year holiday, seems to have made a poor first impression, receiving an approval rating of 18.2 percent and a disapproval rating of 25.3 percent.
However, 56.5 percent of those polled did not give an opinion.
The survey, conducted on Thursday and Friday, collected 1,004 valid samples and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.