Poll results released on Wednesday showed a drop in support for the Cabinet compared with results last month.
The Taiwan Indicator Survey Research (TISR) poll showed a 16.4 percentage point increase from a month earlier in respondents who said they are not satisfied with Premier Lin Chuan’s (林全) Cabinet, while those who were satisfied decreased 6.5 percentage points.
The poll showed that 9.8 percent of respondents said that domestic finances were good — a rise of 3.6 percentage points from last month — while 79.6 percent said they were in decline, a decrease of 5.7 percentage points.
Photo: CNA
In response to questions about family finances, 52.4 percent said their income and expenditures were balanced —– an increase of 0.6 percentage points from last month — while 39.7 percent said spending outweighed income, an increase of 0.4 percentage points.
The poll showed an increase in negative perceptions of Lin, with 38.3 percent of respondents approving of his performance, while 33.8 percent disapproved, the TISR said, adding that compared with last month, the ratings showed a 6.5 percentage point decrease in positive ratings and a 16.4 percentage point increase in negative ratings for the premier.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents said that they trusted President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), while 20 percent said they did not, the TISR said, adding that Tsai had a 50.6 percent trust rating and a 22.8 percent distrust rating.
Compared with last month, Tsai’s trust rating increased 0.4 percentage points, while her distrust rating rose 6.5 percentage points, the TISR said.
With the new administration not yet a month in office, it must adapt and show its capabilities and express its policies concisely, or as Tsai said: “Eight years of hard work would not compare with a misspoken statement lasting eight seconds,” the TISR said.
Compared with last month’s poll, there was a 0.5 percentage point decrease in respondents expressing goodwill toward the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), while those indicating dislike of the party increased by 1.8 percentage points, the TISR said, adding that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) saw an increase of 0.3 percentage points in favorability and a dislike rating decrease of 2.2 percentage points.
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) goodwill rating rose 1.7 percentage points from last month,, while its those who expressed dislike of it decreased 2.7 percentage points, the poll showed.
Regarding respondent’s impressions of political parties, the DPP fell 0.7 percentage points to 56.7 percent, the KMT increased 0.8 percentage points to 38.3, while the CCP jumped 2.6 percentage points to 29.9, the poll said.
The poll was conducted on Sunday and Monday, interviewing 1,005 people aged 20 or above using randomly generated telephone numbers. It had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
The poll weighted results based on respondent’s sex, location, age and level of education, the TISR said.
The premier said he has been paying attention to the polls and would use them as an indication of the Cabinet’s performance, adding that he would “humbly listen to” the people’s voice.
The Cabinet would review its performance when meeting public discontent, he said.
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao
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