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By: Carter Hull
Born in 1956 in Taipei City, Tsai Ing-wen grew up in an auto repair shop run by her parents. Later, Dr. Tsai graduated from National Taiwan University with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1978. From there she obtained a Master of Laws from Cornell University in 1980 and a Ph.D. in Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1984. After obtaining her Ph.D. Tsai served as Chief Legal Advisor (1992-2000) on Taiwan’s bid to join the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and eventually the World Trade Organization (WTO). She later devoted her skills to the development of cross-strait relations as Senior Adviser to the Mainland Affairs Council (1994-1998), Senior Advisor to the National Security Council (1999-2000), and Chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council (2000-2004).
How did Tsai Ing-wen get into politics?
Dr. Tsai joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2004 and became a DPP legislator at-large (2005-2006). She was then appointed to serve as vice premier (2006-2007). After the DPP returned to the opposition, Dr. Tsai was elected DPP chairperson for two successive terms (2008-2010 and 2010-2012), the first woman to chair a major political party in Taiwan. She returned as DPP chairperson in 2014, a position she held until 2018.
In 2012 Dr. Tsai was nominated as the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate for the presidential election. While unsuccessful, Dr. Tsai was Taiwan’s first-ever female presidential candidate. She ran again in 2016 and was elected as Taiwan’s 14th-term President. In 2020, President Tsai was re-elected as Taiwan’s 15th-term President with the highest vote total in history— 8.17 million. President Tsai was officially sworn into office again as the 15th-term President in May 2020.
How has President Tsai handled the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Outgoing US ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft, declared Taiwan’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic a “model for the world”. With a population of 24 million people, Taiwan has limited cases to only 941 and deaths to just nine. Taiwan avoided lockdowns and schools have stayed open throughout the pandemic. President Tsai’s government has been credited with implementing the highly effective “find, test, trace and isolate” system in which monitoring and support for those self-isolating have played key roles.
President Tsai’s government collaboration with an exceptionally strong civic technology community known as G0v (“gov zero”) solved initial problems around mask distribution. G0v developed a series of apps and other digital tools that were integrated with the government’s distribution system and enabled people to find out where masks were available. Ultimately, President Tsai’s leadership throughout the pandemic has allowed Taiwan to come out of this pandemic relatively unscathed.
What challenges are facing President Tsai?
The elephant in the room when discussing President Tsai’s administration is cross-strait relations. Beijing has longed to transform the island into a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), using the same formula that is employed for Hong Kong — “one country, two systems” — which would terminate President Tsai’s government. According to the Brookings Institute, when President Tsai was elected in 2016 China responded by mounting a campaign of intimidation, pressure, marginalization, and penetration of Taiwan politics by providing support for political organizations and traditional media and manipulating social media. So far China has been unsuccessful in turning Taiwan into a special administrative region, and with the crackdown on Hong Kong, it seems increasingly unlikely that Taiwan will agree to the “one country, two systems” policy.
In the final stretch of the Trump Administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US would be terminating restrictions on U.S. government contacts with Taiwan officials. The response was a mix of celebrating the end to long-overdue restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan official contacts, while others warned of a rising risk of a cross-Strait crisis. However, the absence of any statement by President Tsai Ing-wen or the presidential office in response to the easing of these restrictions was notable. Specifically, it spoke to President Tsai’s steady, methodical, and balanced style of governance.
However, while President Tsai stayed quiet on this final policy change in the Trump-era, Beijing did not. Beijing likely will try to punish Taipei for Washington’s policy adjustment. According to the Brookings Institute, doing so would accord with a pattern of Beijing taking its anger out on Taiwan in response to visible actions by the United States to support Taiwan. This could manifest in military drills of the coast of Taiwan, poaching more of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, etc.
What are the takeaways for President Tsai?
Ultimately, President Tsai has proven that her steady, methodical, and balanced style of governance is succeeding. Further, with her record 8.17 million votes securing her reelection in 2020 she clearly has the support of her constituents. Taiwan’s record low Coronavirus cases and return to comparatively normal life is a testament to her ability to govern. Moving forward, only time will tell how President Tsai will handle the real and ever-present threat China poses to her government.
Discussion Questions
Should Taiwan accept China’s “one country, two systems” policy?
How should Taiwan respond to the easing of restrictions on US-Taiwan relations?
What can the world learn from President Tsai’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic?
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Further Reading
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