TAIPEI (TVBS News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has achieved a remarkable turnaround in public approval, according to the latest poll released on Tuesday (Dec. 17). The poll shows that 51% of the population supports Lai's handling of national affairs, while 35% disapprove, and 13% remain undecided or unaware.
The Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation (台灣民意基金會) conducted the poll, which asked respondents whether they generally approve of President Lai's management of national affairs, including key personnel decisions and policies. Results revealed that 12.7% strongly approve, 38.6% somewhat approve, 20.9% somewhat disapprove, 14.4% strongly disapprove, 11.4% have no opinion, and 2% are unsure. Approval ratings surpass disapproval by 16 percentage points.
Foundation Chairman Michael You (游盈隆) noted that Lai's supporters have increased by 1.66 million, while opposition decreased by 1.5 million, allowing Lai to swiftly overcome recent governance challenges. He attributes this turnaround to a combination of factors, including a surge in Taiwanese identity, diplomatic impacts, reactions to Chinese military drills, and Lai's decision to appoint Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to represent Taiwan at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, symbolizing a potential collaboration.
The foundation entrusted the survey's sampling design, phone interviews, data cleaning, and statistical analysis to the Focus Survey Research (山水民意研究公司). Conducted from Dec. 9-11, the survey included 1,083 adults nationwide, using a dual-frame random sampling method with 70% landline and 30% mobile respondents.