The Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation on July 27 released its latest survey on the approval rates for the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration. While almost 56% of respondents said they were pleased with how Tsai has dealt with important issues in Taiwan, the results were 14% lower than when took office in May.

You Ying-lung (游盈隆), chairman of the Foundation, said this was a warning of escalating dissatisfaction with Tsai.

Accodding to You, the South China Sea ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague earlier this month, the accidental launch of a missile by the Taiwanese navy on July 1, and Tsai's decision to restart operations at the First Nuclear Power Plant have undermined public trust in her administration.

Commenting on the survey, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said that Tsai’s refusal to take action or to adopt a firm stand over the South China Sea ruling has disappointed many people. For his part, KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) argued that labor rights issues were another possible reason for the drop in support.

On the PTT bulletin board, a netizen said the DPP had vowed to push for better labor rights during te election campaign, but that after taking office, it has focused more on negotiations with employers rather than workers when proposing its labor act amendment in the legislature.

The survey was conducted July 18-19 among 1,084 adults, with a margin of error of +/- 2.98 percentage points.

First Editor: Olivia Yang
Second Editor: J. Michael Cole