Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen faces a big challenge in her second term: Beijing
- Democratic island’s first female president will be sworn in for a second term on Wednesday
- Mainland China is expected to ramp up pressure, but analysts say Tsai will likely maintain her approach to cross-strait ties
Taiwan’s first female president Tsai Ing-wen is to be sworn in for a second term on Wednesday, as the self-ruled island faces growing pressure from Beijing and the challenge of a coronavirus-hit economy.
The 63-year-old Tsai, who was re-elected in a landslide on January 11 in a dramatic turnaround, has won praise for reforms in her first term including legalising gay marriage and boosting social services like aged care.
She has also increased Taiwan’s visibility on the global stage and bolstered unofficial ties with the United States. But that, and Tsai’s refusal to accept the one-China principle – which Beijing sees as the basis for cross-strait engagement – has made her a thorn in the mainland’s side.
Beijing considers Taiwan a part of China that must be returned to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. It suspended official exchanges with Taiwan when Tsai became president four years ago, and analysts see Beijing as her biggest challenge in the new term. They expect Beijing to ramp up pressure on Tsai with more war games around the island and further efforts to isolate Taipei, all to force her to accept the principle.
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But they said the strategy was unlikely to work, since it will be Tsai’s last term as president, and that she is likely to stick to a stable and consistent approach to mainland relations.