TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation’s (TPOF) latest poll on the ongoing graft case involving former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday (Oct. 17) indicates that half of the respondents are satisfied with the prosecutor's conduct.
When asked whether Ko was treated fairly in the Core City Project graft case, 47% of respondents believed he received fair treatment, while 34.2% disagreed. Additionally, 10.2% of respondents felt it was too early to tell, and 8.6% either had no opinion or refused to answer.
TPOF noted that although the public has not reached a consensus on the issue, nearly half looked at the investigation favorably. The organization highlighted that those in disagreement, approximately 6.6 million people, represent a significant section of the public.
Compared to a similar poll conducted in September, those who viewed the investigation unfavorably increased by 7.8%, while those who saw it positively rose by 6.7%. TPOF stated this indicates a solidification of public opinion, with those answering neutrally dropping by 14.6%.
Three noteworthy trends emerged from the poll.
First, the majority of respondents aged 20-34 viewed the investigation negatively, in contrast to respondents aged 55 and above, who viewed it positively.
Second, respondents with a college degree or higher viewed the investigation negatively. However, a majority of respondents in all other educational categories believed Ko was treated fairly.
Also, a strict party-line divide was evident. Supporters of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party overwhelmingly viewed the investigation positively, while the vast majority of supporters of the Taiwan People’s Party, which Ko founded, viewed it negatively.
Among Kuomintang supporters, 44.7% viewed the investigation negatively, compared to 39.7% who viewed it positively. Among independents, opinions were closely matched, with 31.1% viewing the trial positively and 29.2% holding the opposite view.
TPOF conducted the poll in conjunction with Focus Survey Research, responsible for designing the sampling method, conducting telephone interviews, and analyzing data.
The survey was conducted from Oct. 13-15 among adults over 20 nationwide, using both landlines and cell phones, and had a margin of error of approximately 3%.
