Tsai Ing-wen

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Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文
Chairperson of the DPP
Incumbent
Assumed office  May 20, 2008
Preceded by	Frank Hsieh
Vice President of the Executive Yuan
In office January 26, 2006 – May 17, 2007
President	Chen Shui-bian
Premier	Su Tseng-chang
Preceded by	Wu Rong-i
Succeeded by	Chiou I-jen
Born	August 31, 1956 (1956-08-31) (age 51) Pingtung County, Taiwan
Political party	Democratic Progressive Party
Alma mater	National Taiwan University Cornell University University of London

Tsai Ing-wen (traditional Chinese: 蔡英文; pinyin: Cài Yīngwén; Wade-Giles: Tsài Yīng-wén; born August 31, 1956) is a former Vice premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan). She is now the chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Contents 1 Early career 2 Rise in politics 3 DPP chairmanship 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Early career

Upon graduation from the department 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 held professorial positions at several universities until 1993 before being appointed to a succession of bodies, including the Fair Trade Commission, the Copyright Commission of the Ministry of the Interior, the National Security Council, and as Chief Legal Advisor on International Economic Organizations for the Ministry of Economic Affairs. She was also convener of the Drafting/Research Group on the Statute Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau.

[edit] 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 in 2004. 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.^[1] She then served as the chair of TaiMedBiologics, a biotechnology company based in Taiwan.^[2]

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 has stated that there are no set criteria for a running mate, that his search will not be defined by sex, occupation, or even political party affiliations.^[3]

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.

[edit] 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• 葉菊蘭不委屈　她要上山下海，主動把客家人找出來！

Government offices
Preceded by Wu Rong-i	Vice Premier of Taiwan 2006-2007	Succeeded by Chiou I-jen
Party political offices
Preceded by Frank Hsieh	Chairperson of the DPP 2008-	Incumbent