President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Cabinet have regained some public approval, the latest poll by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed, with a bump of more than 7 percentage points.
It is the first time that their approval ratings have gone up since the administration took office in May last year.
The poll, released yesterday, found that 41.5 percent of respondents approved of Tsai, up from 33.8 percent last month, while the number of those who disapproved of her fell from 54.4 percent last month to 41.3 percent.
Photo: Wang Yi-song, Taipei Times
“The rebound in Tsai’s approval rating is a surprising turn, and might be caused by an NT$800 billion [US$25.97 billion] infrastructure proposal, the Cabinet reshuffle and the pension reform drive,” foundation chairman You Ying-lung (游盈隆) told a news conference in Taipei.
The foundation’s polls put Tsai’s approval rating at 69.9 percent when she was inaugurated, but her numbers had been on a steady decline.
The Cabinet’s approval rating was up by 6.4 percentage points to 33.6 percent compared with last month’s poll, while its disapproval rating dropped by 8.6 percentage points to 52 percent.
Asked about the Cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, 36.3 percent of respondents said the scale of the changes was appropriate, 18.7 percent said it was too small and 14.4 percent said it was too large, while 30.3 percent were undecided or indifferent.
However, asked if they could name Cabinet members, few respondents could name names.
Only 21 percent of respondents were able to name Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦), but even so, he had the highest name recognition.
The names of Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維), Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) and Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) were recognized by 8.7 percent, 8.5 percent, 8.4 percent and 8.3 percent of respondents respectively. Fewer than 3 percent of respondents knew the names of the rest of the Cabinet.
That lack of recognition could offset the Cabinet’s efforts to communicate government policies to the public, You said.
“Cabinet members have a ridiculously low level of public attention. It has to be [Premier] Lin Chuan’s (林全) top priority to improve [the Cabinet’s image] if he wants to hold another Cabinet ‘workshop,’” You said.
Asked about pension reform efforts, 40.9 percent of respondents thought the government’s plan to phase out the 18 percent preferential savings rate for retired public-sector employees over six years was a suitable amount of time, while 32.4 percent thought it was too slow and 14.3 percent said it was too fast, You said.
Those numbers suggest that a public consensus on the matter has yet to be formed, he said.
However, 38.6 percent of respondents said the proposal to lower the income replacement ratio for retired public employees from 75 percent to 60 percent in 16 years was too slow, 34.9 percent said it was well-paced and 10.4 percent said it was too fast.
The poll found that opinion was nearly evenly split when it came to faith in the ability of Tsai’s government to carry out pension reforms: 47 percent of the respondents said yes and 46.2 percent said no.
Asked about the new labor laws, more than half of respondents, or 54.9 percent, did not support the five-day workweek policy with one regular day off and one flexible “rest day,” while 35.8 percent backed it.
“Opposition to the workweek policy appears unabated, so the policy will remain a trouble spot for Tsai’s administration,” You said.
Almost half of respondents, 49.9 percent, said they were not confident in the government’s ability to carry out judicial reforms, while 40.3 percent of respondents said that they were.
The poll was conducted on Monday and Tuesday last week and collected 1,088 valid samples.
It had a margin of error of 2.97 percentage points.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS