Soft-spoken and naturally shy, Taiwan’s first female leader President Tsai Ing-wen was not an obvious trailblazer.
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Channel News Asia
Date: 25 Jun 2018

TAIPEI: Soft-spoken and naturally shy, Taiwan’s first female leader President Tsai Ing-

wen was not an obvious trailblazer.

But after taking over a party once seen as chauvinist and defying sexist critics, she calls on other women to shrug off self-doubt and be “brave” in the #MeToo era.

In an exclusive interview with AFP, Tsai, 61, described the difficulties she faced in countering “traditional” attitudes among voters and party members who did not believe she was up to the job because of her gender.

“This is, in a way, a very traditional society,” Tsai told AFP at her residence in central Taipei, two years after her election as president.

“People think that women tend to be weaker, tend to be less resilient, and people usually have this question of whether a woman can exercise leadership like a man.”

The former law professor worked as an international trade negotiator before taking on her first major public role in 2000, when she headed the body that deals with Taiwan’s relations with Beijing.    [FULL  STORY]