Tsai Ing-wen today held her first major briefing and Q&A with the foreign press in Taipei.
The News Lens
Date: 2016/12/31
By: Edward White
Taiwan’s patience, resolve and versatility will be tested in 2017 amid an increasingly uncertain
Photo Credit: EPA/ 達志影像
international environment and renewed pressure from Beijing.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) first major press conference as president with both foreign and local press was held in Taipei this morning and covered a range of issues from cross-Strait relations and her phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, to the local economy and same-sex marriage.
Tsai won the presidential election on Jan. 16, becoming Taiwan’s first female president. She is also the first Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader to hold both the executive branch and majority in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament. In her January victory speech, Tsai said that she will maintain a status quo to build a “relationship with no provocations and no accidents” with the Chinese government. At her May inauguration, Tsai said the new administration would “work to maintain the existing mechanisms for dialogue and communication across the Taiwan Strait.”
“For us to accomplish our goals, dialogue and communication are absolutely crucial,” she said at the time. “We will establish mechanisms for intensive and routine communications with all parties involved, and exchange views at all times to prevent misjudgment, establish mutual trust, and effectively resolve disputes.” [FULL STORY]
