A recent Ministry of Foreign Affairs poll found that more than 60 percent of Taiwanese approve of President William Lai’s (賴清德) overall handling of foreign affairs.
The poll showed that 61.2 percent of respondents approve of Lai’s approach to managing the tariff dispute with US President Donald Trump, while 61.1 percent approve of the administration’s conduct of foreign affairs overall.
The survey also showed that 66.6 percent of respondents approved of Lai’s handling of last year’s official visits to the three Pacific nations with which Taiwan maintains formal diplomatic relations.
Photo: AFP / Taiwan Presidential Office
The Pacific nations are the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu.
In addition, 73 percent of respondents supported Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung’s (林佳龍) “democracy, peace and prosperity” diplomatic strategy — a slight 0.3 percent dip compared with last year.
The poll found that 65.5 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the ministry’s program to support the economic development of nations with which Taiwan maintains diplomatic relations, while 55.9 percent said they were confident in Lin’s overall performance as minister of foreign affairs.
According to the survey, 87.9 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that it is easy and convenient to travel with Taiwanese passports.
In terms of regional security, the poll showed that 80 percent of the public believed that freedom of navigation operations conducted last year by Taiwan’s international partners made the nation safer.
In addition, 81.4 percent of respondents supported the ministry’s condemnation of hostile actions by China, including military exercises near Taiwan, interference in domestic politics and its misrepresentation of UN Resolution 2758 as justification for Taiwan’s exclusion from international organizations.
The poll revealed 84.9 percent of Taiwanese supported deepening economic ties with US states and territories, while 69.2 percent identified China as the most serious security threat in the Indo-Pacific region and 67.1 percent agreed that China is a hostile foreign power.
The survey also found that 53 percent of respondents view foreign affairs as more important than cross-strait relations, an increase from 46.7 percent in November last year. That reflects a growing interest in developing ties with countries beyond China.
The survey was conducted by True Number Survey Research from May 2 to Thursday last week. Respondents were Taiwanese adults aged 20 and older.
It yielded 1,686 valid samples, with a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the