Taiwan leader slipping in ratings, poll shows

Taiwan people’s dream of better livelihoods and their aspiration to communicate with the Chinese mainland after three years of COVID-19 will prominently figure during the region’s leadership election in 2024, experts from both sides of the Taiwan Strait said.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s war rhetoric with emphasis on confronting the mainland is gradually running out of steam, as people’s dissatisfaction over the DPP’s seven-year governance is increasing, they said.

A survey conducted by the NGO Foundation for the People has revealed that Taiwan’s residents are disillusioned with local Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen’s performance and the DPP administration’s reluctance to address important issues such as the income gap, affordable housing and unemployment.

The poll, which coincided with the seventh anniversary of Tsai taking office in May 2016, showed that 73.9 percent of respondents are unhappy with the administration’s approach toward narrowing the income gap.