Asia’s most dangerous job changes hands

published 21 January 2016

Tsai Ing-wen, a 59-year-old former law professor, has been "thrust into one of Asia's toughest and most dangerous jobs" after winning the Taiwanese presidential elections last Saturday, says The Guardian. The sweeping victory her Democratic Progressive Party (DDP) also secured 68 of the 113 seats in Taiwan's legislature came amid strident warnings from Chinese state media, warning Tsai and her party against any move towards independence. Taiwan is a self-governing democracy of 23 million people, but China sees it as a renegade province and has hundreds of missiles aimed at the island.

Tsai Ing-wen is only the DPP's second leader to rule Taiwan. "Tensions" between the island and China rose during the 2000-2008 term of the DPP's previous president, Chen Shui-bian, says Neil Connor in The Daily Telegraph. A state newspaper, The Global Times, warned that if her administration tried to "cross the red line", Taiwan would meet a "dead end".Under the outgoing Kuomintang (KMT) president, Ma Ying-jeou, there has been an "unprecedented rapprochement with China", including a historic meeting with China's president last November, says Tom Phillips in The Guardian. But there has also been "growing dissatisfaction" at his lack of progress. Taiwan's economy grew by just 1% last year, despite Ma's guarantees that pro-China policies would have a positive effect.

There are hopes Tsai Ing-wen can deliver major reform (she wants to diversify trade relations and tackle youth unemployment and the wealth gap), but "improving the economy will mean maintaining stable cross-strait relations", says Ben Bland in the FT. About 40% of Taiwan's exports go to China "if it feels slighted, Beijing is not above stymieing the island's international commercial ties". Tsai Ing-wen's backers say she has a record of managing tough issues and is an experienced negotiator. "Much will depend on whether [she] can rule with the same level-headed practicality that has earned her the support of so many Taiwanese."