| Tsai Ing-wen | |
 Tsai Ing-wen on August 30, 2008 |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 20, 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Chen Shui-bian |
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| In office January 26, 2006 – May 17, 2007 |
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| President | Chen Shui-bian |
| Premier | Su Tseng-chang |
| Preceded by | Wu Rong-i |
| Succeeded by | Chiou I-jen |
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| Born | August 31, 1956 Pingtung County, Taiwan |
| Political party | Democratic Progressive Party |
| Alma mater | National Taiwan University Cornell University University of London |
| Religion | Christianity |
- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tsai.
Tsai Ing-wen (Chinese: 蔡英文; pinyin: Cài Yīngwén; Wade-Giles: Tsai4 Ying1-wen2; born August 31, 1956 in Pingtung County, Taiwan) is the current chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). She was one of the chief drafters of the Special state-to-state relations doctrine of President Lee Teng-hui. She also formerly served as a Vice Premier of the Republic of China (more commonly known as Taiwan) under President Chen Shui-bian.
Tsai is a graduate of National Taiwan University, Cornell University Law School, and the London School of Economics, where she studied law. After she returned to Taiwan, she held professorial positions at several universities until 1993 before being appointed to a succession of bodies.
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Early career
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 in Taipei, Taiwan.[1]
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.[1] She was also convener of the drafting team on the Statute Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (traditional 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 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.[2] She then served as the chair of TaiMedBiologics, a biotechnology company based in Taiwan.[3]
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 sex, occupation, or even political party affiliations.[4]
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 chairmanship
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 its Taiwan-oriented values while defending social justice. She criticized Ma for mentioning closer Cross-Strait relations but nothing about Taiwan's sovereignty.[5]
Tsai questioned Ma's stand on Taiwan's sovereign status. Ma emphasized the importance of the 1992 Consensus and called Tsai an Taiwan independence fundamentalist. Tsai criticized Ma's government for not answering her question and labeling others.[6]
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 reputed misdeeds. [7] 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. [8]
References
- ^ a b "Legislators". Legislative Yuan. http://www.ly.gov.tw/ly/en/03_leg/03_leg_02.jsp?ItemNO=EN130000&stage=6&lgno=00192. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- ^ The China Post (2007-05-17). "Taiwan's new premier picks tough strategist as deputy in limited Cabinet reshuffle". Press release. http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archives/front/2007517/109921.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ^ ChinaReviewNews (2007-09-13). "跌破眼鏡！蔡英文改行 當生技公司董事長" (in traditional Chinese). Press release. http://zhaojun.net/doc/1004/4/8/3/100448376.html?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=100448376. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ^ China Times (2007-06-01). "創意組合 蔡英文會是馬英九的副手搭檔嗎？" (in traditional Chinese). Press release. http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-Focus/2007Cti-Focus-Content/0,4518,9606010491+96060131+0+215519+0,00.html. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ^ Taipei Times (2008-05-22). "New DPP chief bothered by what Ma did not say". Press release. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/05/22/2003412588. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ^ Taipei Times (2008-06-04). "Tsai rejects independence criticism". Press release. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/06/04/2003413779. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080815/wl_asia_afp/taiwanpoliticscorruptionchendppswitzerland_080815112552 AFP Taiwan ex-president quits party over alleged money laundering, August 15, 2008
- ^ http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/080818/5/14bxj.html CNA 扁匯款案 民進黨廉政會一個半月完成報告, August 18, 2008
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 蔡英文 |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Tsai Ing-wen |
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by Wu Rong-i |
Vice Premier of Taiwan 2006-2007 |
Succeeded by Chiou I-jen |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Frank Hsieh Acting |
Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party 2008- |
Incumbent |
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