Top 10 amazing facts about Tsai ing-wen

President Tsai Ing-wen addressing relations with the Republic of China – Wikimedia Commons 

Top 10 amazing facts about Tsai ing-wen

Few countries have made strides in the election of women as presidents. Even fewer would trust women who are single with no children to sit at the helm of the highest seat of power.

However, some countries do defy such beliefs by electing a woman who is unmarried and has no children, as their commander-in-chief, here are the Top 10 amazing facts about Tsai Ing-Wen

1. Tsai Ing-Wen Childhood and Early life

A family portrait – Wikimedia Commons 

Democratic Progressive Party chairman Tsai Ing-wen is Taiwan’s first female President, She was born on August 31, 1956, in Taipei Taiwan, a few years after Mao Zedong communist army invaded and took Beijing forcing Chiang Kai-shek nationalists to flee across the Taiwan Strait. 

Tsai is the youngest of nine children of her parents, Tsai Chieh-sheng who is her father, and Chang Chin-Feng, her mother. It is her father who encouraged her to study, who she loved spending most of her leisure time caring for him, and upon advice that she enrolled at the law college

2. Tsai’s love and genius in Law

London School of Economics. Photo by secret London – Wikimedia Commons 

As a bright girl, she is a notable alumnus of Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School and later graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in law from the National Taiwan University in 1978. She furthered her studies at Cornell University in New York where she earned a master of law degree in 1980, and later applied and was enrolled to study at the prestigious London School of Economics to earn her Ph.D. in law in 1984 leaving her to embark on an academic career at the School of Law at Soochow University and National Chengchi University for several years.

3. Tsai’s ambitious attribute 

The bespectacled former law academic ventured into a governmental position in the early 1990s, where she served as a key trade negotiator under the then-ruling Kuomintang (KMT)  as a key negotiator for  Taiwan’s entry into the World trade organization and was also one of the key strategist drafters of the special state to state relations doctrine officer under President Lee Teng-hui.

Tsai also served as the Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council in 2000 when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came into power and president Chen Shui-bian took office.

4. Tsai is a Writer and an Activist

President Tsai Ing-wen showed support and solidarity. Photo by H.T. Yu- Wikimedia Commons 

In Taste of Life 2011, Ms. Tsai Ing-wen wrote: “In a mature democratic society, if there is no strong opposition party, then democratic politics will most likely regress.”

This is part of her belief for engaging in politics, civil activism, and writing that her understanding of a government, is it should take initiatives to expand public housing, reduce poverty as well as provide employment for its citizen, and offer good governance.

Tsai is a supporter of disadvantaged and disenfranchised groups in society. She advocates for the poor, children and women, and the LGBT group by endorsing same-sex marriages as well as the Taiwanese aborigines.

5. Tsai is an ambitious servant and great administrator

Tsai Ing-wen inspecting personnel and facilities. Photo by Wang Yu Ching- Wikimedia Commons 

In 2015, Tsai officially registered under the DPP as a presidential candidate for the primaries where she was nominated as the first woman.  A year later in the 2016 election, she became the first female president when she garnered more than 56% of the votes which she helped secure through her visit to the US and addressing the Taiwanese diaspora to vote for her.

Her candidacy appealed to most of the voters as she is not only a respected critical thinker on diverse issues and an excellent negotiator but offers a different kind of politicking from the traditional DPP politicians who have a reputation of being pushy, aggressive, and street smart, a contrast to Ms. Tsai publicity shyness.

Her style of sincerity, tenacity, and intelligence outweighs her charismatic and oratory skills.

6. Tsai’s role models 

Angela Merkel the then Chancellor of Germany- Wikimedia Commons 

Tsai’s style of politicking is soft power, which reflects that she admires, and whom she has numerously confessed to liking is the former British prime Minister who she admires for her strength and versatility as well as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her decisiveness.   

Having studied in Europe in the 1980s and seeing the strides made by politicians who are at the helm of very high positions as women, her admiration for them as the people’s servants made her dream to do more for the Taiwanese people.

7. Tai’s love for cats is exceptional 

President Tsai Ing-wen and the cat station master. photo by Makoto Lin– Wikimedia Commons 

She has two felines whom she loves so much. Their names are Think Think and Ah Tsai whom she shares and posts pictures on her social media.  She believes and jokes that part of the reason why many young people voted for her apart from her is because of the felines.

8. Tai’s holds herself to high standards

When she enrolled as a student for her degree, she did not pass all her examinations, unlike her siblings. Being the last child, she enjoys reading, spending time with her cats, and trying to make herself better in everything she does.

Her mantra is, “I will never be able to forgive myself If I chose to not do what I know I can.”

9. Tsai is Taiwan’s Finest and Many Firsts

Tsai Ing-wen was inaugurated on 20 May 2016, as the second and current president of Taiwan when she took office under the Democratic Progressive party landslide win. Four years later she defeated and retained her seat asking her the first woman to win and retain her candidacy, the first president of Taiwan who is pro-human and progressive as well as single, and the first woman to be of both Hakka and Aboriginal descent from her grandmothers Paiwan side.  

In addition, she is the first president to clinch the seat without serving the City of Taipei as a mayor.

10. Tsai is no push over

President Tsai Ing-wen celebrating ties between China and Honduras- Wikimedia Commons 

Her policy and administration have always been firm concerning the Cross-Strait policy with China of “one country, two systems.” On June 25, 2016, she suspended official cross-strait communications and exchanges taking place through unofficial channels.

In January 2019, she reiterated through a speech by stating that Taiwan rejects any one country, two systems proposal as that would equate Beijing to the 1992 consensus and she declared that any exchanges be held based on parity between the two countries since the cross-strait had reached a historical turning point altogether.