Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen is Taiwan’s first female presidential
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen is Taiwan’s first female presidential candidate, and recent polls suggest the 54-year-old scholar has a good chance of becoming the island’s first female President.
Ms. Tsai has a razor-thin lead over President Ma Ying-jeou, who is seeking a second term.
Ms. Tsai is soft spoken and moderate and these characteristics have salvaged the DPP’s image, once marred by Mr. Chen Shui-bian’s corruption scandal.
Under her leadership, the pro-independence DPP scored two out of five municipalities in 2010, and its overall votes exceeded those of its rival Kuomintang by five percentage points.
Today, she is riding on that popularity to compete head on with President Ma for the presidency.
Recent surveys indicate the two rivals are only a few percentage points apart in terms of support.
But like all her predecessors, cross-strait ties remain the party’s Achilles’ heel.
So far, Ms Tsai has yet to come up with a workable China policy for her campaign.
Instead, Ms. Tsai taps into public discontent over domestic problems like low wages, high unemployment and housing prices, which Ma’s administration has failed to resolve.
She also accuses Mr. Ma of selling Taiwan to the mainland with his proposal of a peace accord with Beijing.
Despite Ms Tsai’s popularity, there is growing concern that cross-strait relations could backtrack if the pro-independence forces regain power.
So the biggest challenge for Ms Tsai now is to come up with a feasible mainland policy, which can assure the public of future peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.