Tsai's Disapproval Rating Continues to Rise|台灣民意基金會民調: 蔡總統聲望上任次低

President Tsai Ing-wen's approval rating continues to decline to the second lowest of her presidency, according to the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, with just 21 percent of respondents saying they approved how she handles national affairs, compared to 54 percent who did not approve.


President Tsai Ing-wen's approval rating continues to plummet. In the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation's latest survey, over 54 percent of respondents said they disapprove of the way she handles national affairs compared to just 21 percent who approve. This is the largest discrepancy in two years.

The 23-percent gap between people who disapprove and approve is the largest in almost two years. Public opinion on President Tsai Ing-wen's administration continues to plummet.

The survey asked respondents to rate Tsai on 10 presidential characteristics. She only fared well in the intelligence category and suffered in all the others, including bipartisan cooperation, effective leadership and personnel appointments. One analyst says Tsai's flagging popularity fell even further after she decided to ride a tank through areas stricken by the Aug. 23 floods. Diplomatic allies cutting ties with Taiwan left and right has not helped either.

She waved to flood victims from her lofty perch far away. This was not great for her image.

She broke her promises. After she became president, she listened to big business and started leaning right. This is not advantageous to the Democratic Progressive Party. So, President Tsai's right-leaning is a huge problem.

Tsai's popularity is trending downwards and has fallen to the second lowest level of her presidency. In another survey on the cross-strait independence vs. reunification issue, the number of people supporting reunification surpassed the number of people wanting to maintain the status quo. This is another test for Tsai.