Straight Across The Strait — Part 2 Taiwan Takes Tsai Through The Two-year Test

Earl@Large

Saint Lucia-born Caribbean journalist Earl Bousquet was among eight writers from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries invited to Taiwan for a familiarity tour that coincided with the 2nd anniversary of the advent of the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen, installed on May 20, 2016 after her Democratic People’s Party (DPP) defeated the Chinese Nationalist Party KMT (Kuomintang) four months earlier on January 16. This is the second in a series of reports on Bousquet’s third visit to Taiwan.

TWO years after taking office as Taiwan’s first elected woman leader, the quiet university professor faces an uphill task of convincing voters she’s delivered or is delivering on the most important election campaign promises of her now-ruling Democratic People’s Party (DPP). However, President Tsai Ing-wen is not the least worried.

She has her own explanations for where the country is at two years after her massive 2016 election victory. But at mid-term, other yardsticks are also measuring her performance — and the tales from the tapes are offering some interesting views, even though the facts and figures are being watched and read with different eyes.

Take a look at what the polls show about what the voters see and say.

The Taiwan NextGen Foundation (TNGF) and the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF) conducted separate public opinion polls assessing the Tsai administration at mid-term and released their respective findings just ahead of the 2nd anniversary celebrations.

The two polls gave Madam Tsai a combined average of 52.01% public support. The TPOF poll found that 39.2% of respondents approved her leadership, while 47.6% did not. But her personal popularity was on a definite rebound, the latest figure reflecting a 7.2% increase over the previous month — and the highest in five months.

But, according to the latest poll as well: only 35.2% supported her administration’s economic performance at the halfway mark, 45% felt the transfer of power from the KMT to the DPP had not brought about change and 44.5% felt Taiwan’s overall development hasn’t changed much.

In addition, 40.7% were satisfied with her reforms, while 65% wanted to see them implemented before her four-year term ends.

But none of that worries President Tsai.

In a half-hour live-streamed exchange with Netizens on the online platform ‘Watchout’ on May 20, she explained that while her first two years in the presidential hot seat had been somewhat bumpy, it was however natural, since her administration had been pushing through a series of reforms to lay the foundation for a better future.

Having used the first two years to lay the foundation for the other two, she promised, at mid-term, to ensure the now-launched reforms will be so activated between now and the next general elections that the public will see and feel the results in time.

The DPP administration is struggling to wade through a maze of political and economic difficulties and challenges on both the home and external fronts.

Economic reforms have not been as quickly implemented as any administration would have wanted halfway through its term, the pace of progress being always slower than the level of public expectation.

After two years trying to turn election promises into better daily living reality, the jury is still out.

At mid-term, voters have given Madam Tsai an up-and-down, give-and-take report card, as people still wait and hope that the metamorphosis from promises to deliveries will be a faster process.

The debate continues at home and abroad on her performance and where Taiwan stands two years after the single lady graced the presidential throne in Taipei. Just as they do on whether a half-cup of tea means it’s ‘half-full’ or ;half-empty’, Taiwanese today differ on whether their state of being under Madam Tsai at mid-term is half-way up or half-way down.