President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has become a lame duck president with persistent low approval ratings and people have given up hope in him, academics said yesterday, after the results of a recent opinion poll were released.

Ma’s approval rating has dropped to a record-low 19.1 percent, and 60 percent of respondents said they did not expect a better performance from Ma in the remainder of his second term, the poll showed.