TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The approval rating for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) soared to an all-time high of nearly 73 percent in the latest public opinion poll released on Monday (May 18).

As Tsai prepares to attend her second presidential inauguration ceremony on Wednesday (May 20), the latest poll released by the Taiwan New Constitution Association (制憲聯盟) at a press conference on Monday (May 18) showed that 72.6 percent are satisfied with her performance, with only 17.3 percent expressing disapproval. The latest results represent a remarkable 17.6 percent increase over Tsai's approval rating recorded in the Nov. 19 edition of the poll.

Premier Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) approval rating has also risen substantially to 65.9 percent, with only 23.4 saying that they disapproved of his performance. The latest results for Su represent a 13 percent increase in his approval rating from the Nov. 19 survey.

As to whether Taiwanese consider themselves "Taiwanese," "Chinese," or "both," 70 percent selected "Taiwanese," 2.7 percent opted for "Chinese," and 25.2 percent chose "both." Among respondents aged 20 to 29, those who considered themselves "Taiwanese" reached 91.1 percent.

When asked whether they felt the international confusion over Taiwan's official name "Republic of China" and China's official name "People's Republic of China" has led to serious confusion internationally, 73.6 percent agreed, while only 17.3 percent thought it was not a serious problem. Many are now calling for the word "China" to be removed from the name of Taiwan's national carrier, China Airlines, and for "Taiwan" to be listed on its passport to avoid being confused with China.

The poll was conducted from 6 p.m. on May 11 to 10 p.m. on May 12. The survey gathered 1,121 valid responses from adults qualified to vote in 20 cities and counties, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.93 percent.