TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The support rate of the Taiwanese opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) has reached a historic low following the 2020 presidential election, according to a new poll conducted by the independence-leaning think tank Taiwan Brain Trust (TBT).

A poll released on Thursday (May 7) by the research organization shows that the number of Taiwanese who identify with the KMT has dropped to 9.2 percent, the lowest the party has ever seen. Taking over as the country's second most popular political party is the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), led by Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), with 11.5 percent support.

The poll results also indicate that minor parties such as the New Power Party (NPP) and the Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) have garnered more support since January, with the NPP receiving 6.9 percent in support and the TSP receiving 4.3 percent. Meanwhile, 40.5 percent of respondents have indicated their support for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the party's highest rating since 2018.

As the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has been successfully contained by the current DPP administration, the approval ratings of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) have risen to 74.5 percent and 68.9 percent, respectively. As for Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who has been hailed as a hero in the island nation's battle against the coronavirus, 93.4 percent of respondents were satisfied with his leadership.

According to ETtoday, the TBT poll was conducted from April 25 to 28, interviewing 1,075 Taiwanese adults over the age of 20 via telephone. It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.