Tsai Ing-wen has made history as Taiwan’s first female president. she is a Taiwanese politician who is the president-elect of the Republic of China, the first woman elected to the office.The 59-year-old leader of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won in a landslide victory in January 2016.
She gave a breakdown of her manifesto in her victory speech, Tsai vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China. However, she also called for Beijing to respect Taiwan’s democracy and argued that both sides must ensure there are no provocations.
The will of the Taiwanese people would be the basis for relations with China, Ms Tsai said.
“I also want to emphasise that both sides of the Taiwanese Strait have a responsibility to find mutually acceptable means of interaction that are based on dignity and reciprocity.
“We must ensure that no provocations or accidents take place,” Ms Tsai said, warning that “any forms of suppression will harm the stability of cross-strait relations”.
She thanked the US and Japan for their support and vowed Taiwan would contribute to peace and stability in the region.
As President-elect Tsai said on the night of her victory, “The results today tell me the people want to see a government that is willing to listen to people, that is more transparent and accountable and a government that is more capable of leading us past our current challenges and taking care of those in need.”
Tsai’s election likely signals a more progressive shift in Taiwan’s political trajectory. Taiwanese are becoming wary of China’s attempt to control the country and are looking for a government to spend less time playing nice with the mainland and more time fixing the island nation’s economic woes.
