Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou Rebounds

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, whose approval rating had fallen as low as 23.9 percent in March and April, has rebounded at the midpoint of his presidential term to 46.8 percent. While that is hardly a mandate from heaven, analysts are surprised at how far Ma has bounced back, firming up the Kuomintang government's grip on power.

The primary reason is the recent signing of the president's most important objective, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), between Taiwan and China which removed tariffs on hundreds of items – and far more on Taiwanese exports to China than China exports to Taiwan. While before final negotiations many Taiwanese thought the agreement would cause havoc with the economy, the pact now is widely seen as being considerably more beneficial to Taiwan than to China. The pact also appears to give the long-isolated island the ability to hold talks with other trading partners to become more integrated into the global economy