Pro-Green Poll: Tsai’s Approval Rating Drops to 41.4%

Pro-Green Poll: Tsai’s Approval Rating Drops to 41.4%

Source: China Times

November 29, 2016

Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, a pro-Green polling organization, yesterday held a press conference to announce the results of its latest opinion poll on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) approval rating. According to the foundation, 41.4% of the respondents approved of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) performance while 42.6% disapproved. Compared with last month, Tsai’s approval rating has fallen by 2.6 percentage points. The figures are interpreted as a sign of the imminent “leadership crisis” and “authority crisis” that the Tsai government is now facing.

When asked “whether Premier Lin Chuan’s (林全) Cabinet is able to solve problems,” 30.7% of the respondents answered yes while 52% replied in the negative. Moreover, 4.9% of the respondents chose “it is hard to say” and 12.5% “No idea/I don’t want to answer the question.”

The respondents were also asked whether they support plans to lift the ban on Japanese food imports from radiation-stricken areas. Only 4.7% of those surveyed answered that they “highly agree” and 14.5% “mildly agree” while 24.3% said they “mildly disagree” and 52% “highly disagree.” Moreover, 4.5% of the respondents chose “No idea/I don’t want to answer the question.”

As for Tsai government’s cross-Strait policies, 47.8% disapproved of Tsai government’s performance while 41.2% approved. Compared with three months ago, support for her cross-Strait policies has plummeted 10 percentage points and the disapproval rating has risen by 8 percentage points.

The poll also measured public support for legalizing same-sex marriage. Only 18.9% answered that they “highly agree” and 27.4% “mildly agree” while 18.1% said they “mildly disagree” and 27.3% “highly disagree.” Moreover, 8.2% of the respondents chose “No idea/I don’t want to answer the question.” In sum, 46.3% of the respondents supported same-sex marriage while 45.4% disapproved of the measure.

The opinion poll was designed by You Ying-lung (游盈隆), chairman of the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, and conducted by Focus Survey Research from November 21 to 22, with 1,098 adults aged 20 or over successfully surveyed. The margin of error associated with this sampling is plus or minus 2.96 percentage points with a 95% confidence interval.

Attachment : none