After six years in office, President Tsai still appears to have the public''s support. A new poll finds her approval rating at 46.2%. According to the survey, public approval is greatest for Tsai''s handling of foreign affairs, national defense, and Taiwan-China relations. The ratings are lowest for Tsai''s judicial reforms, and for her push to develop a domestic COVID vaccine.

Friday marked President Tsai Ing-wen’s sixth year in office. In a survey by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, Tsai was shown to have a 46.2% approval rating – down 3.7 percentage points from last month. Overall, respondents scored the president 61.55 points out of 100. In a ranking of the Tsai administration’s policies, foreign affairs topped the list, with 56% of respondents expressing approval. National defense ranked second, Taiwan-China relations ranked third, economic performance ranked fourth, and development of a domestically produced COVID vaccine ranked fifth. At sixth place, judicial reform scored only a 37.3% approval rating. Meanwhile, amid a sharp rise in COVID cases, the CECC scored only 59.53 points in the survey.

Hung Meng-kai
KMT lawmaker
President Tsai Ing-wen, please stop focusing on these cold survey numbers. Regardless of how much approval you have, look at the soaring COVID cases over these past two months, and the seriousness of this pandemic. The anger, worry and anxiety of the public – that’s what you need to take care of right now.

Chang Hung-lu
DPP lawmaker
After six years in office, she’s received praise worldwide for her national defense and foreign affairs policies. Domestically, the economy, internal affairs – in fact, in all aspects surveyed, the data all looks very good. I think that for the elected president of Taiwan, this is the best performance record possible.

Tsai’s second-term midterm results were received differently by the pan-blue and pan-green camps. Another survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association looked at Tsai’s performance on policies related to cross-strait ties. It found that 49.2% of respondents were satisfied with her cross-strait policy, while some 30% were dissatisfied. Forty-eight percent said they were confident in her ability to navigate cross-strait affairs, while 36% said they were not.

Lin Ting-huei
Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association
What is more commendable is that even in its sixth year, this administration has not become a lame duck. Whether we’re talking cross-strait issues, or those related to foreign affairs and defense, President Tsai is still able to take the lead.

Tung Li-wen
Taiwan Thinktank consultant
On different topics you can see a 30% to 40% disapproval rating, showing that there is still division in public opinion. I think the situation is still quite serious.

According to the scholar, one of Tsai’s biggest challenges in her last two years in office will be achieving a public consensus on key national issues.