LIKE a nervous candidate in a job interview, shy yet formal, she fielded questions ranging from how to handle Chinese infiltration to why she always wears trouser suits. Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s usually plain-speaking president, marked her second anniversary in office with a rare live interview with a critical website.
Ms Tsai badly needs to restate her case to the people. In two years her approval ratings have slumped from almost 70% to as low as 26%, according to a broadcaster, TVBS; the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation says 48% of her compatriots disapprove of her performance, against 39% in favour. She has lost ground especially with the young, whom she has eagerly courted.
Elected in a landslide in 2016, Ms Tsai blazed a trail as the first female leader of a Chinese-speaking country in modern times. Her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also won a majority in Taiwan’s parliament for the first time, finally ending the grip of the Kuomintang (KMT) that began when…Continue reading
Source: The Economist – Asia
Taiwan’s president has upset both business and workers