本文從杭廷頓「績效困境」觀點出發，以比較視野解析中國社會各項政治支持內在關聯性，並結合既有解釋釐清大眾政治支持來源。透過第六波世界價值調查資料分析發現，中國體制運作評價主要來自代表性機構信心；日、美民主社會體制運作評價則一併反映代表性機構信心與拒絕威權理念。其次，本文證實相較其他途徑變項，績效認知變項對體制運作評價解釋力較高。相較文獻多將高政治支持連結共黨續存，本文將對中國政治支持屬性與體制正當性提出不同的研究意涵。

Based on Huntington's idea of the ＂performance dilemma＂ (PD) and using a comparative perspective, this paper analyses the internal relations between the various forms of political support in Chinese society. It draws together previous analyses so as to clarify the source of political support by the masses. By analyzing the 6th wave of the World Values Survey, this paper shows that, first of all, public assessment of the regime in China depends greatly on people's confidence in representative institutions. In advanced democracies such as Japan and the United States, public assessment of the regime draws on both individuals' confidence in representative institutions and their rejection of authoritarian alternatives. Secondly, the paper proves that when compared with variables related to other approaches, variables of perceived performance play a more important role in explaining the assessment of the system. In contrast to previous studies that linked high political support to authoritarian survival, this paper provides additional theoretical proposals for understanding the nature of political support and state legitimacy in China.