The approval ratings for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Lin Chuan (林全) have fallen to 40.8 percent and 31.7 percent respectively, their lowest since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration took office in May, according to a Taiwan Indicators Survey Research poll.
Of those polled, 40.8 percent said they are satisfied with Tsai’s performance, down 2 percentage points from a survey conducted by the firm last month, while 41.8 percent said they are dissatisfied, a decline of 3.2 percentage points from last month, according to the foundation’s Taiwan Mood Barometer Survey released yesterday.
On the question of trust, 48 percent said that they trust Tsai, down 5.4 percentage points from last month’s poll, while 33.1 percent said that they do not trust her, a rise of 0.2 percentage points from last month.
Tsai’s approval ratings and trust ratings were at their highest in late June, at 54.6 percent and 59.8 percent respectively, but they have since fallen consistently, according to the foundation’s polls.
Asked about the premier, 31.7 percent said they are satisfied with his performance, compared with 47.2 percent who are dissatisfied.
Lin’s disapproval rating first surpassed his approval rating in a poll conducted early last month, and the gap between positive and negative ratings has continued to widen since then, according to the foundation.
In terms of party preferences, 43.4 percent of respondents said that they have a positive view of the DPP, while 35.3 percent said they have a negative impression of the party, down 2.5 percentage points and 1.5 percentage points from last month respectively.
As for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), 26.1 percent said they have a favorable view of the party, while 48.8 percent said they dislike it, a decline of 0.4 percentage points and 4.8 percentage points from last month respectively.
Of those polled, 16.4 percent said they have a positive impression of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a rise of 0.6 percentage points from last month, while 57.7 percent said they hold a negative view of the party, a decline of 3.8 percentage points.
“Respondents have a neutral attitude toward the DPP, but they generally have a negative impression of the KMT and the CCP, although the preference ratings of the two parties have increased slightly,” the foundation said.
Meanwhile, 9.9 percent of respondents said they think the nation’s economy is in good shape, while 77.7 percent said it is not.
Of those polled, 54.5 percent said they have a sustainable household income, and 38 percent said they do not.
The telephone survey was conducted on Sunday and Monday and interviewed 1,017 people, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
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