BEIJING, May 13 -- Support for Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian dipped in a poll released Wednesday that also indicated wider support for two opposition leaders after bridge-building trips to the Chinese mainland.

    A China Times leadership poll gave Chen, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader, a 39-percent popularity rating, down from 44 percent in February.

    His disapproval rating rose to 43 percent from 39 percent, according to the survey of 1,002 people the Taipei paper carried out Monday and Tuesday.

    Forty-five percent of those polled disapproved of Chen¡¯s bitter criticism of his two key opponents¡¯ trip to the mainland, while only 21 percent of respondents supported it.

    Popularity for Lien Chan, chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, meanwhile, went from 31 percent in February to 47 percent following his landmark April 26-May 3 visit to the mainland.

    Lien met Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on his trip, with the two party leaders jointly pledging to oppose ¡°Taiwan independence¡± and push for greater cross-Straits economic and civil cooperation.

    Support also rose for another opposition leader, People First Party Chairman James Soong, who continued his mainland visit Thursday. His approval rating rose to 35 percent from 29 percent, the poll said.

    Lien and Soong have said their visits were meant to seek peace across the Taiwan Straits.

    Soong has warned moves by the island towards independence would lead to a ¡°dead end,¡± and said stable relations with the mainland was in everyone¡¯s interests.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)