Tsai Ing-wen

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tsai.

Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文
Leader of the Democratic Progressive Party
In office 2008 DPP election 2010 DPP election
In office May 20, 2008 – February 29, 2012
Preceded by	Chen Shui-bian
Succeeded by	Ker Chien-ming (acting)
Majority	73,865 (57.1%) 78,192 (90.29%)
Vice Premier of the Republic of China
In office January 25, 2006 – May 21, 2007
Premier	Su Tseng-chang
Preceded by	Wu Rong-i
Succeeded by	Chiou I-jen
Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council
In office May 20, 2000 – May 20, 2004
Premier	Su Tseng-chang
Preceded by	Su Chi
Succeeded by	Joseph Wu
Personal details
Born	August 31, 1956 (1956-08-31) Fangshan, Taiwan
Political party	Democratic Progressive Party
Alma mater	National Taiwan University Cornell University London School of Economics
Religion	Christian

Tsai Ing-wen
Chinese	蔡英文
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Cài Yīngwén - Wade–Giles Tsaì Yīngwén Min - Hokkien POJ Chhoà Eng-bûn

Tsai Ing-wen (born August 31, 1956 in Fangshan Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan) is the former chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan. Studying in Taiwan, the U.S and the U.K. Tsai earned an LL.B. from National Taiwan University, an LL.M. from Cornell University Law School and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.. Tsai held professorial positions at several universities upon returning from her study abroad in 1984. Starting 1993, she was appointed to a series of governmental positions by the then-ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and was one of the chief drafters of the Special state-to-state relations doctrine of President Lee Teng-hui.

After DPP President Chen Shui-bian took office in 2000, Tsai was invited to serve as Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council throughout Chen's first term as a non-partisan. She became a DPP member in 2004 and served briefly as a DPP-listed non-constituency member of the Legislative Yuan. From there, she was appointed Vice Premier under Premier Su Tseng-chang until the cabinet's mass resignation in 2007. She was elected and assumed DPP chairpersonship in 2008, following her party's defeat in the 2008 presidential election. She resigned as chairperson after losing her 2012 presidential election bid.

Tsai ran for New Taipei City mayorship in the November 2010 municipal elections but was defeated by another former Vice Premier Eric Chu (KMT). In April 2011, Tsai became the first female presidential candidate in the history of the Republic of China after defeating her former superior, Su Tseng-chang, in the DPP's primary by a slight margin. She was defeated by President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang in the 5th direct presidential election in 2012.

Early career

Born of Hakka origin in Pingtung County, Tsai moved to Taipei at the age of 11. After graduating from the College of Law at National Taiwan University in 1978, she obtained a master's degree in Legal Science from Cornell University Law School in 1980 and then a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics (1984). Upon her return to Taiwan, she taught law at Soochow University and National Chengchi University both in Taipei, Taiwan.

She was also appointed to several government agencies including the Fair Trade Commission and the Copyright Commission. She served as consultant for the Mainland Affairs Council and the National Security Council. She was also convener of the drafting team on the Statute Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (Chinese: 港澳關係條例).

Rise in politics

In 2000, Tsai was given the high-profile appointment of chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council. Confirming the widely-held belief that she maintained pan-green sympathies, Tsai joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2004. She was subsequently nominated by the DPP to be a candidate in the 2004 legislative election and was elected as a legislator-at-large.

On January 26, 2006, Tsai was appointed to the post of Vice President of the Executive Yuan, a position commonly referred to as Vice Premier. She concurrently served as chairwoman of the Consumer Protection Commission.

On May 17, 2007, Tsai, along with the rest of the cabinet of out-going Premier Su Tseng-chang, resigned to make way for incoming Premier Chang Chun-hsiung and his cabinet. Premier Chang named Chiou I-jen, the incumbent Secretary-General of the Presidential Office to replace Tsai as Vice Premier. She then served as the chair of TaiMedBiologics, a biotechnology company based in Taiwan.

In Kuomintang candidate Ma Ying-jeou's search for his running mate for the 2008 ROC presidential election, Tsai, a DPP member, was surprisingly suggested. Ma stated that there were no set criteria for a running mate, that his search would not be defined by gender, occupation, or even political party affiliations.

On May 19, 2008, Tsai defeated Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) in the election for DPP chairperson, and succeeded outgoing Frank Hsieh as the 12th-term chairperson of the party.

DPP Chairpersonship

Tsai took office on May 20, 2008, the same day Ma Ying-jeou was inaugurated as President. She said that DPP would work to deepen the Taiwanese localization movement while defending social justice. She criticized Ma for mentioning closer Cross-Strait relations but nothing about Taiwan's sovereignty and national security.

Tsai questioned Ma's stand on Taiwan's sovereign status. Ma emphasized the importance of the so-called 1992 Consensus and called Tsai an Taiwan independence extremist. Tsai criticized Ma's government for not answering her question and labeling others.

After former President Chen Shui-bian's acknowledgement of transferring past campaign funds overseas, Tsai apologized to the public and also said that the DPP would not try to cover up for Chen's alleged misdeeds. Tsai has also vowed to weed out any and all corrupt members in the party and has set up a special internal investigative committee for the task. Tsai has been impartial in light of Chen's acknowledgement.

On April 25, 2010, Tsai participated in a televised debate against President and Kuomintang chairman Ma Ying-jeou over a proposed trade deal with China. While President Ma believed that the agreement with mainland China, called the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), would increase Taiwanese exports to China and lower unemployment rates, Tsai said it "will force Taiwan to open up for cheap Chinese exports eventually" and certain domestic industries will be harmed by the mainland trade invasion. Tsai also said that the pact "will make Taiwan lose its independence in cross-strait relations and become a Chinese parasite" and that Taiwan should negotiate with China under the multilateral-framework World Trade Organization, which would offer more trade protections and emphasize Taiwan's distinct status.

Under Tsai's leadership, along with some of KMT's unpopular policies, the DPP has been regaining momentum in elections since 2009, after the major defeats from 2006 to 2008. In 2010, she was re-elected as the chairperson of the DPP.

Tsai made a controversial statement in May 2010 claiming that the Republic of China was a "government-in-exile" non-native to Taiwan; however on 8 October 2011, two days prior to the 100-year anniversary celebrations of the Double Ten Day, Tsai changed her statement, stating that "The ROC is Taiwan, Taiwan is the ROC, and the current ROC government is no longer ruled by a non-native political power".

Tsai resigned as chairperson of the DPP after losing her 2012 presidential election bid to incumbent Ma Ying-jeou.

2012 presidential campaign

Further information: Republic of China presidential election, 2012

On March 11, 2011, Tsai Ing-wen officially announced to run for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Progressive Party. On April 27, 2011, Tsai became the first female presidential candidate in Taiwan after she defeated former Premier Su Tseng-chang by a small margin in a nation-wide phone poll (of more than 15,000 samples) that served as the party's primary. Tsai ran against incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang and James Soong of the People First Party in the 5th direct presidential election, which was held on January 14, 2012. Garnering 45% of the vote, she conceded defeat to President Ma in an international press conference, resigning her seat as Chairman of the DPP. She later consoled many of her supporters gathered at her campaign headquarters, many of whom were in tears. She encouraged them to stand strong as "Taiwan still needs a voice of opposition."

"The ruling Kuomintang has alleged that Tsai approved government investment in Yu Chang Biologics Co. when she was vice premier in early 2007 with the full knowledge that she would leave the Cabinet and chair the company later in the year. Tsai has denied the allegations, saying she did not manage the government investment and was only invited to chair Yu Chang by prominent scientists after she left the Cabinet."

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Su Chi	Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council 2000–2004	Succeeded by Joseph Wu
Preceded by Wu Rong-i	Vice Premier of the Republic of China 2006–2007	Succeeded by Chiou I-jen
Party political offices
Preceded by Frank Hsieh Acting	Leader of the Democratic Progressive Party 2008–2012	Succeeded by Ker Chien-ming Acting