According to a poll released on Tuesday by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, 45.9 per cent of respondents approved of his job performance – his second-lowest rating since taking office in May last year – while the number who disapproved was almost equal at 45.7 per cent, the highest total yet recorded.
The survey was conducted early this month by the Taipei-based independent polling agency and saw a 3 percentage point fall in Lai’s approval ratings compared with the previous month, while disapproval levels rose by 6.6 points.
The findings suggested he was “facing unprecedented levels of public dissatisfaction”, the survey report said. It also warned that US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs targeting the island may also be having an impact and risked hitting his support further.
Meanwhile, another poll by mnews found that 37.8 per cent of voters expressed dissatisfaction with Lai’s performance, compared with 49.3 per cent who approved.
The polling was carried out amid growing tensions with mainland China and the ongoing recall battle which has seen Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) giving its full support to a recall campaign that aims to unseat lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in a bid to regain control of the legislature.
