A survey released on Tuesday has revealed that over half of the respondents were satisfied with President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) inaugural speech. Additionally, 74% agree that Taiwan and China are separate entities.
Key findings from the survey, conducted by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, show that 51% are satisfied with Lai's overall speech performance, 74% agree that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. Furthermore, 58% approve of Lai's handling of national affairs so far.
Regarding Taiwan-China relations, over 43% strongly agreed with the statement "the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not affiliated with each other", while more than 31% moderately agreed. Additionally, 9.6% somewhat disagreed, 6.5% did not agree at all, 7% had no opinion, and 2.5% did not know or refused to answer.
In terms of President Lai's approval ratings, more than 20% strongly approve, and more than 37% somewhat approve of his handling of major national issues. Additionally, more than 54% have a favorable opinion of President Lai, 23% have no feeling, and over 19% have an unfavorable opinion.
Regarding Taiwan's future, more than 47% favor independence, over 12% favor unification, and over 28% prefer maintaining the status quo.
The survey was carried out between May 20-22. It collected 1,077 valid responses from adults aged 20 and over, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.99 percentage points.