TAIPEI, Jan 16 – As a child, Ms Tsai Ing-wen was not deemed as one who would grow up to have a successful career. On Saturday (Jan 16), the 59-year-old confounded those early expectations and made Taiwanese history by becoming the island’s first woman president. The Democratic Progressive Party candidate was elected into power by a landslide victory, winning about 60 per cent of the votes.
Mr Eric Chu of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) conceded defeat on Saturday night and announced that he would step down as the KMT chairman.”I am sorry, I have let you down. We have failed. We did not work hard enough,” Mr Chu said, surrounded by sombre-looking supporters. Ms Tsai arrived at the DPP headquarters in Taipei at 4.15pm, to track the counting of votes after polls closed at 4pm.
She will be giving a press conference in the evening followed by an address to supporters. In an interview with Time magazine last year, the youngest of nine children recalled how she was “not considered a kid that would be successful in my career”. Ms Tsai’s win means that she is Taiwan’s first woman president. She is also Asia’s first woman leader who is not related or affiliated to a political dynasty.
She is also likely to make waves – one met with some trepidation – in cross-Strait relations. Unlike her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT, she has not endorsed the so-called 1992 Consensus which recognises that there is one China but with differing interpretations. The DPP advocates formal independence for the self-governing island, which Beijing considers to be its territory.
— The Straits Times
