METAMORPHOSIS:Once an aloof academic lacking public flair, Tsai Ing-wen has transformed into a dynamic leader, carrying her party to victory with cultivated poise

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 18, 2016
By: Chen Hui-ping and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday led the Democratic

Democratic Progressive Party supporters shine lights from their mobile devices as they celebrate election results during a rally in Taipei on Saturday. Photo: Bloomberg

Progressive Party (DPP) to a landslide victory and became the nation’s first female president.
A professor of law with a doctoral degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, Tsai, born in 1956, entered the limelight in 1998 as a member of a delegation that negotiated terms for the nations accession to the WTO, making a reputation for herself as a technocrat with level-headedness at the negotiation table.

In 2000, the DPP’s Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was elected president and Tsai was named Mainland Affairs Council minister. She carried multiple diplomatic duties, including ongoing WTO negotiations.     [FULL  STORY]