Han Kuo-yu likely to be recalled: survey

By Wu Su-wei and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer





Nearly 60 percent of Kaohsiung residents polled said that they would vote to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), think tank Taiwan Brain Trust, which conducted the survey, said yesterday.

A petition to recall the mayor is undergoing a second review and if it is passed, a vote is to be held in the latter half of June.

Of those polled, 69.7 percent said that they would participate in a vote, while 56 percent said they would still participate if there was a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 infections.

From left, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung City Councilor Chen Chih-chung and DPP Legislator Tsai Yi-yu take part in a news conference yesterday in Taipei on the results of an opinion poll on Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

The data showed that, irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic, Han would likely be recalled, Taiwan Brain Trust director Wu Shih-chang (吳世昌) said.

“From the results of the survey it is clear that Kaohsiung residents have made up their minds. There seems to be a consensus that Han Kuo-yu has not been given a pass on his performance,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said.

DPP Kaohsiung City Councilor Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), the think tank’s chief executive, criticized Han’s statements about the advantages his administration had brought to the city.

Han’s claims are not reflected in the performance of his administration, Chen said.

Asked whether they were satisfied with Han as mayor, 59.1 percent of respondents said they were not, while 32.4 percent said that they were.

Asked to grade Han’s performance on a scale of zero to 10, 30 percent of respondents gave a grade of zero, while the average was 3.5.

Of those who voted for Han in the 2018 mayoral election, 28 percent said that they regretted having done so.

Should Han’s recall be put to a vote, 59.5 percent of respondents said they would vote in favor of recalling the mayor, while 34.5 percent said they would vote against a recall.

If the COVID-19 pandemic does not worsen, 60.5 percent of city residents are likely to participate in a recall vote and there would likely be more than 1 million votes in favor of a recall, Wu said.

If the COVID-19 situation worsens, there would be an estimated 48.7 percent voter turnout and an estimated 866,330 votes in favor of a recall, which would still meet the threshold, he said.

A turnout of 30 percent is likely all that would be needed to recall Han, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said.

If a vote takes place, it is likely that Han would become the nation’s first local government head to be recalled, he said.

The survey, conducted on Thursday and Friday last week, collected 1,072 valid samples. It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3 percentage points.