A survey released by an e-newsletter called Formosa in late November shows that President Tsai Ing-wen’s approval rating dropped to a new low, at 55.6%. That’s down 5.3 percentage point from the previous month. The survey also found that public confidence in President Tsai and satisfaction with her governance are both down.

The online media outlet is considered as having a position that favor’s President Tsai’s DPP, as it was founded by Hsu Hsing-liang, a veteran DPP member, in December 2009. It is generally believed that the public is not happy with Tsai’s lifting of the ban on US pork containing the leanness-enhancing feed addictive ractopamine, which will become effective on January 1.

Another reason is due to the government’s decision not to renew the license of TV station Cti News. While the National Communications Commission denied any political interference, opponents of the move say that it is politically motivated and will hurt freedom of speech in Taiwan.

But maybe Tsai can feel relaxed. That’s because a DPP survey shows that the party is still ahead of the opposition KMT. Its approval ratings stood at 32.1%, whereas the KMT only received support from 17.5% of the polled. Tsai has told party members that the DPP can relax but must not let down its guard as there is still a long way to go.

2020-12-05