TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai's (卓榮泰) approval rating has collapsed to a historic low of 26%, marking the first time his support has fallen below 30% and fueling speculation about potential cabinet changes. The TVBS Poll Center (TVBS民意調查中心) survey, conducted Aug. 1-8 among 1,044 adults, reveals Cho's approval plummeted 7 percentage points from his first-year anniversary rating of 33% in May. His disapproval rating climbed to 52%, up from 51%.
The premier confronts mounting criticism over his government's handling of two cascading crises that have shaken public confidence. Public dissatisfaction with the administration's response to U.S. tariffs reached 52%, with only 32% expressing satisfaction after Washington announced a punishing 20% reciprocal tariff rate for Taiwan on Aug. 1. The rate exceeds the 15% imposed on Japan and South Korea.
Disaster relief efforts following Typhoon Danas have also drawn withering criticism from the public. The devastating July storm left two dead and 334 injured, causing widespread flooding across southern Taiwan regions including Tainan (台南) and Chiayi (嘉義). Only 26% of respondents approved of the government's disaster response, while a crushing 58% expressed dissatisfaction.
The political damage appears particularly severe in flood-ravaged areas where voters witnessed the government's response firsthand. In the hardest-hit Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan (雲嘉南) region, satisfaction reached 38% — higher than other areas but still trailing the 47% disapproval rate. Cross-party analysis reveals deep political divisions, with ruling Democratic Progressive Party (民進黨) supporters showing higher satisfaction levels. Opposition Kuomintang (國民黨) and Taiwan People's Party (民眾黨) supporters registered overwhelming disapproval rates approaching 90%.
