Tsai Ing-wen is an experienced negotiator in cross-strait and international affairs, say academics and diplomats
59-year-old scholar-turned politician taught international trade law for 16 years and was involved in major trade negotiations from the early 1980s
Tsai Ing-wen, the expected winner of today’s presidential polls, is no pro-independence troublemaker but a seasoned negotiator with years of experience in mainland and international affairs, scholars who know her say.
Rather than making waves across the Taiwan Strait, the leader of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party is expected to adopt a policy that should ease the nerves of Beijing and staunch ally Washington if she is elected the first female president of the self-ruled island.
In stark contrast with her DPP predecessor Chen Shui-bian, analysts believe Tsai is unlikely to rekindle the tension that once alarmed the two major powers on both sides of the Pacific because of her credentials as a negotiator before and since her entry into politics.
“The fact that she was involved in a long period of international talks, which require extreme patience along with excellent negotiation skills, indicates that Tsai is not a rash or irrational person who acts before carefully thinking through the consequences,” said Professor Wang Kung-yi of the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei.
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Tsai, a 59-year-old scholar-turned politician, who taught international trade law for 16 years after obtaining her masters and doctorate degrees in the US and Britain, was involved in international negotiations ¬– including those involving Taiwan’s accession to the General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs (GATT), its successor the World Trade Organisation and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum from 1984 to late 1999.