Taiwan Leader’s Popularity Sinks as Policy Fights Slow Reforms
- Six months on, much of Tsai Ing-wen’s agenda remains stalled
- President takes more hands-on role in bid to resolve disputes
Tsai Ing-wen in May.
Source: Taipei Photojournalists Association/Pool via BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Six months after her historic ascent to Taiwan’s highest office, Tsai Ing-wen’s popularity is falling as she gets pulled into policy disputes and distracted from a promised economic overhaul.
Tsai, 60, became Taiwan’s first female president in May after a landslide election victory on a pledge to avoid the policy inertia that afflicted her predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou. A stagnant economy under Ma spurred a voter backlash that saw his Kuomintang and its allies shut out of power for the first time since Chiang Kai-shek led them across the Taiwan Strait during the Chinese civil war more than six decades ago.