TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's main opposition party, candidate Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) leads the New Taipei mayoral race with 34.2% support in a three-way contest, according to a new poll by Formosa Publishing Co., Ltd. (美麗島電子報) released on Thursday (Jan. 22). The survey, conducted from Sunday to Tuesday (Jan. 19-21), shows Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨), the ruling party, candidate Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) closely trailing with 32.7%. Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) candidate Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) holds 15.4%.
A potential KMT-TPP coalition behind Lee would give him 45.8% support, decisively beating Su's 36.0%, the poll shows. If the KMT instead fields Liu Ho-jan (劉和然), Su would lead with 36.2%, followed by Huang at 22.7% and Liu at 14.4%. In a scenario where a KMT-TPP coalition backs Liu against Su, Su would still lead with 41.3% compared to Liu's 31.2%.
If a coalition supports Huang against Su, Su would still lead with 41.8% compared to Huang's 36.7%, according to the poll. Formosa Publishing Co., Ltd. commissioned the survey, targeting New Taipei, Taiwan's most populous city, residents aged 20 and above. The survey interviewed 1,070 individuals, including 749 via landline and 321 via mobile, with a margin of error of ±3.0% and a confidence level of 95%. ◼