TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The latest Formosa Publishing (美麗島電子報)poll revealed Thursday (July 31) a significant decline in President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) trust and satisfaction ratings, marking troubling new lows for his administration. The comprehensive survey was conducted from Monday (July 28) to Wednesday (July 30), covering 1,082 individuals across Taiwan with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points.
The survey reveals that 54.9% of respondents do not support Lai's bid for re-election in 2028, with 40.7% expressing strong opposition and 14.2% somewhat opposed to his candidacy. Lai's satisfaction rating has plummeted from 44.7% in June to 34.6%, while dissatisfaction has surged dramatically from 46.8% to 56.6%. The polling data reflects growing public skepticism about the president's leadership effectiveness and political direction.
Lai's trust rating has also suffered dramatically, falling 7.8 percentage points to 37.2% since June, while distrust has increased by 7 percentage points to 50.3%. The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP, 民進黨), Taiwan's ruling party, recent recall campaign failed to regain control of the Legislative Yuan (立法院, Taiwan's parliament), with all 24 Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's main opposition party, legislators and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) retaining their positions.
The recent recall campaign highlighted widespread dissatisfaction against the ruling party, DPP, among the majority of voters. The KMT and Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 台灣民眾黨), Taiwan's third-largest political party, are expected to continue their cooperation in parliament, increasing political challenges for Lai's administration. The KMT will hold its chairmanship election in October, in which Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen will likely be the potential candidate and run for the 2028 presidential election. ◼
