Tsai Ing-wen Research Articles

Women Leaders Transcending the Demands of Covid-19: A Positive Psychology 2.0 Perspective.

This article explores selected speeches of three global women leaders during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic from positive psychology perspectives. It focuses on speeches to address and manage the pandemic of global women leaders, such as Angela Merkel (Germany), Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand), and Tsai Ing-Wen (Taiwan). This study explores the question what global women leaders' leadership actions and responses are and how they address their nations with regard to the four pillars of PP2.0 and the PURE model during Covid-19. The study uses a post-modernist qualitative research design. It is anchored in the hermeneutical-phenomenological research paradigm, using leadership theories and PP2.0 as a lens to explore and understand their strengths with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors use thematic analysis to analyse the selected speeches made by the three women leaders at the onset of the pandemic in Germany, New Zealand and Taiwan. The study contributes to improve the understanding of global women leadership during Covid-19. Conclusions are drawn. Recommendations will be made accordingly.

Taiwan: Can a perfect storm be averted?

Tsai Ing-wen’s election as the leader of the Taiwan authorities in 2016 set off a series of negative interactions across the Taiwan Strait. Donald Trump’s election and his efforts to undermine the US “one-China policy” made things worse. While Taipei felt encouraged to challenge Beijing’s red line, Beijing believed it was necessary to exert even more pressure on Taipei. With greater capabilities and under increasing popular pressure, Beijing has taken a more proactive approach to address the perceived challenge of Taiwan independence. The process of vicious interactions between Taipei, Beijing, and Washington resembles the forming of a perfect storm. This paper reviews how this three-way interaction evolved over time, identifies the major factors shaping this situation, and speculates on future developments by analyzing the major factors involved. It argues that while a perfect storm is indeed taking shape, it is still possible to avert it. For this to happen, however, the three sides need to take a rational and pragmatic approach to managing their demands and desires.

Upaya Pemerintahan Tsai Ing-Wen Melawan Tekanan One-China Principle pada Era Xi Jinping

In fact, China used to only focus on the mainland with one identity, namely the Republic of China which was spearheaded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and General Chiang Kai-shek, but all started to change when the communist party at that time began to carry out a revolution. Mao Zedong as the leader of the movement then succeeded in taking over China (mainland) from the Kuomintang and driving them to the island of Taiwan. As a result of this, until now there is a dual identity between China and Taiwan. The One-China Principle policy is China's attempt to bind Taiwan, because China considers that Taiwan is also part of China's territory. However, Taiwan considers that they are a sovereign state since then until now during the reign of Tsai Ing-wen. So here the researcher will try to explain how the efforts made by Taiwan by focusing on the Tsai Ing-wen government towards the One-China Principle policy in the Xi Jinping era. Researchers will also use a qualitative descriptive method to explain more deeply about the efforts made by Tsai Ing-wen, through the concept of small state diplomacy and diplomatic recognition. Based on the discussion, it can be concluded that the efforts made by Tsai Ing-wen were sufficient to defend their sovereignty de facto, but Taiwan still needs the support of the big powers to defend their sovereignty from the pressures exerted by China.

Gender Matters in Tsai Ing-wen’s First Term: The First Woman President, the Cabinet Appointments, and Same-Sex Marriage in Taiwan

Tsai Ing-wen was elected as the first woman president of Taiwan in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Did the prospect of “the first woman president” shape the expectations of the changes she may bring about regarding women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) rights? Analyzing 35 in-depth elite interviews, this paper demonstrates Tsai’s campaign did not benefit much from “the first woman” slogan, her cabinet included fewer women than her predecessors’, and she could not proactively push for marriage equality after the elections. Tsai’s case illuminates the constraints women leaders face in promoting representation for marginalized groups.

Leading by Example: The Work of Minister K. K. Shailaja of Kerala State, India in Combating COVID-19

In recent months, much public attention has been given to the women leaders of developed countries who have done well in containing the coronavirus and ensuring a low rate of infection and death. Such leaders include Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Katrin Jacobsdottir, Prime Minister of Iceland; Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland; and Tsai Ing-wen, President of Taiwan. In addition to their own expertise, these leaders have been fortunate in being able to rely on the support of well-trained public officials and scientists, adequate financial resources, and well-equipped health facilities. Little has been written, however, about women leaders from developing countries who are trying hard to contain the pandemic. Sadly, in Africa, a continent with 54 states, only Namibia and Togo have women prime ministers, while the only African woman president hails from Ethiopia.This paper briefly examines the work of K.K. Shailaja, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the state of Kerala in India, and proposes how lessons from her work could be useful for other parts of the developing world, especially in Africa.

US-Taiwan Relations during the Tsai Ing-wen Administration and Prospects After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The US-Taiwan relationship made steady progress after the Trump administration came into office in 2017, with the U.S. Congress passing a series of bills to promote working relations. However, the US-China relationship deteriorated in early 2020 when the Novel Coronavirus spread globally, damaging the US economy. On the other hand, the US-Taiwan relationship has made dramatic progress, including epidemic prevention cooperation and a series of high-level US officials visiting Taiwan. Since the Biden administration began in 2021, its policy towards China has maintained a competitive and confrontational stance in response to the strong wishes of Congress. It has also advocated stronger political and economic ties with Taiwan. This article reviews the US-Taiwan relationship under the Tsai administration, outlines the significant developments that occurred in the era of coronavirus, and analyzes future challenges facing US-Taiwan relations under the Biden administration.

Nuclear Power in Taiwan: A Clash of Views

The article addresses the issue of nuclear energy in Taiwan, which became particularly relevant after the 2016 elections, when the winning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by President Tsai Ing-wen, announced the rejection of the use of nuclear energy by 2025. By 2020, adopted against the backdrop of thousands of protests after the Fukushima-1 accident, this course gained many supporters and opponents and became the subject of a political struggle between the currently ruling DPP and its rival Kuomintang. The paper analyzes the reasoning by the parties, describes the opposing organizational structures and their relations with political forces. Three main general issues are in the focus of debates: security, ecology and economics. In security matters, opponents of nuclear energy in Taiwan use the Chernobyl accident and Fukushima-1 as an example, talking about the danger of nuclear energy per se, the inability to control it and ensure an appropriate level of safety of nuclear facilities. Supporters argue that the safety systems of nuclear power plants in Taiwan are superior to those at Fukushima-1, and the company itself is constantly upgrading them. In the ecology sector, the most acute issue is low-level nuclear waste disposal, and the opponents pay much attention to reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. In the area of economic matters, there is a lack of reserve capacity in Taiwan, and the parties emphasize the relatively high cost of alternative environmentally friendly energy sources. Anti-nuclear activists talk about the high costs of building and operating nuclear power plants, arguing that in the long run, nuclear power plants lose out to renewable energy sources both economically and technologically, considering atomic power as an outdated industry.

The day after the apology: A critical discourse analysis of President Tsai’s national apology to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples

In 2016, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen officially apologised to the island’s indigenous peoples. This national apology not only plays a persuasive role in informing the general public about the historical wrongdoings inflicted on the Taiwanese aborigines, but also constitutes a therapeutic and restorative role in the process of reconciliation with the indigenous victims. This article provides a critical discourse analysis of President Tsai’s apology. In particular, it examines the power and ideology embedded in both the speech and the related ceremony, and is supplemented with extracts from interviews with a cross-section of key stakeholders, such as a former Constitutional/Supreme Court Justice, indigenous/tribal leaders and members/staff/advisers from the Presidential Office Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee. The analysis reveals that, despite President Tsai’s apology and reconciliation policies, instead of facilitating reconciliation, the apology appears to exacerbate the long-standing latent tension between indigenous and non-indigenous groups. While the apology opens a window for reconciliation, a higher level of commitment is required to promote structural and systemic changes, such as land restitution, before the apology can be deemed adequate.

The Resilience of Democracy

COVID-19 has not only affected the daily lives of people around the world, but it has also further contributed to the retreat of democracy worldwide. While the decline in the democratic quality of states started more than a decade ago, this debilitating pandemic has accelerated the erosion of democratic norms and processes. In attempts to control the pandemic, governments around the world have stifled civil liberties, implemented illiberal policies, pounced on the political opposition, and even suspended elections. As a highly contagious virus, COVID-19 pushed political leaders to assume stronger emergency powers to counter its spread. With more power comes possible opportunities for its abuse. Strongmen or populist leaders have taken advantage of the pandemic to further increase censorship, enhance surveillance, and disrupt elections. These draconian measures have little regard for human rights and globally accepted democratic norms. Because of this health crisis, at least 80 countries are now experiencing a lower quality of democracy and respect for civil liberties and human rights.1 COVID-19 added more fuel to democracy's burning flames.2 Emergency measures led to the suspension of parliamentary debates as they were seen as a waste of time and resources. This closed the opportunity for opposition politicians to scrutinize policies in abetting the pandemic. In some countries, the right to assembly has been banned to enforce social distancing rules. Autocratic and populist governments have taken advantage of the general atmosphere of fear and alarm to harass dissidents and silence critics. Other acts that weakened the quality of democracy involve restricting the flow of information, harassing critical media, and accusing critics as purveyors of “fake news” or labeled as “enemies of the state”. This is quite stark among democracies old and new, for example, in my country, the Philippines. Despite this general trend, citizens and institutions in a handful of democracies are pushing back. COVID-19 did not prevent popular mobilization around the world. These diverse political protests comprised of demonstrations against the strict and constraining policies related to controlling the pandemic like in Germany and the United States. But in Thailand and Hong Kong, the protests are also about the autocratic governments and the clamor to restore democratic rule. Student activists and the youth are front and center in this particular episode of contentious collective action in these countries. In Asia, not even COVID-19 can prevent citizens in pushing for political rights and realize their aspirations for a more liberal and democratic society. This resilience for democracy is not only manifested in the streets, but equally important in the ballot box. Elections had to overcome the challenges of COVID-19 in countries like Taiwan, New Zealand, and the United States. Pending the formal announcement of the results of the U.S. presidential elections, it is projected that Donald Trump will lost his reelection bid. In the Asia-Pacific region, people have given new and clear electoral mandates to President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand. It is not a coincidence that these two female leaders have successfully curbed the COVID-19 pandemic in their respective countries due to their swift, innovative, evidence-based, and people-centered approach to containing the spread of the virus. These models clearly showed that there is another way to combat COVID-19 without sacrificing democratic norms and practices. In other words, democracy can only be saved from the pandemic with more democracy. In this issue of Asian Politics & Policy, we offer an array of excellent research articles and reviews on a host of topics ranging from populism, decentralization, democratization, maritime cooperation, welfare states, and voting behavior. A common thread running between these articles is the analysis and examination of democratic regimes and their public policies. As Asia and the world continue to battle the COVID-19 virus, it is my hope that democracy will not only survive, but it will also evolve in a way that it could thrive and offer new possibilities for popular participation, mobilization, and empowerment. Lastly, I hope APP readers will appreciate the new design of the journal. This is not just to improve the journal's look but will also improve efficiency in the production process.

Taiwan’s new southbound policy: the cooperation and exchanges of human resources and the impacts on the education cooperation between Taiwan and Vietnam

The economic boom in the 1970s has allowed Taiwan to rise as one of the ``four dragons'' in East Asia. In the late 1990s, the Taiwanese government set up a ``Go South policy'' to strengthen and expand the relationships in trade and investment between Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam. The results gained from the process of implementing the ``Go South policy'' have paved the way for the birth of the ``New Southbound Policy''. In 2016, President Tsai Ing-wen initiated the ``New Southbound Policy''. This policy is people-centered, actively promotes bilateral exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia in the fields of human resources, manufacturing, and investment. education, culture, tourism, agriculture..., in which special attention is paid to cooperation in education - training and high-level human resource exchange. This policy will create significant impacts on Vietnam's overall relationship with Taiwan, especially in the field of education and human resource development. In Taiwan's perception, Vietnam is the first choice because this is a country with stable economic development, large market ownership and diverse consumer demand. On that basis, the paper focuses on the formation and implementation of Taiwan's ``New Southbound Policy'' on human resources development. In addition, the article assesses the impact of Taiwan's ``New Southbound Policy'' on the present and future cooperation between Taiwan and Vietnam in the field of education.

Framing Cyber Security in Taiwan: A Perspective of Discursive Knowledge Production

In 2019, the Tsai Ing-wen administration in Taiwan successfully amended the National Security Act as a protective measure against threats in cyberspace. However, Taiwan has perceived itself under China’s cyber-attacks since 1999, yet it is only the Tsai administration that was able to mobilize substantial resources to counter this threat. To understand what has been different in her endeavor, this paper investigated this historical development in the discourse of Taiwan’s cyber security via the analytical framework of securitization. It argues that the improvement of Taiwan’s cyber posture under Tsai is not due to the previous administrations’ ignorance of cyber threats but is due to the unique context that enables discursive practices of knowledge production during the Tsai administration to deliver a more convincing claim. The investigation further provides cautious notes on the potential adverse effect of this securitization.

The human rights gap in the Taiwan Strait: how China pushes Taiwan towards the US

The paper describes the growing human rights gap between China on one side and the US and Taiwan on the other side and analyses its impact on cross-strait relations. Since Xi Jinping’s ascent to power in the People’s Republic of China in 2012/2013 and the elections of Donald Trump in the US and Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan in 2016, the relationship between China and the other two countries has worsened. The US and Taiwan have a similar view on human rights in the PRC. The increasing repression and authoritarianism of the PRC leads to a human rights gap in the Taiwan Strait that increases the divide and the tensions between both sides. The failure of the PRC to address in its proposal for a peaceful unification the concerns of the Taiwanese for their democracy and human rights pushes Taiwan further away. The similar assessment of the PRC’s authoritarian threat by the US and Taiwan strengthens the bond between both, based on the shared values of democracy and human rights.

Framing the New Southbound Policy in Western Media

The New Southbound Policy (NSP) is the key issue in the economic policy agenda of Tsai Ing-wen, the President of the Republic of China. The aim of the article is to examine through the quantitative analysis the content of Western media as well as a group of Asian media outlets about the NSP in order to depict the NSP’s image. Twenty-three websites of newspapers, magazines, radio (Voice of Vietnam) and television (CNA) channels have been under the research process. There are two hundred five research units which were identified as news features concerning the New Southbound Policy. Generally, the idea of New Southbound Policy is simultaneously drawn in the media outlets' content as an economic and political agenda. The NSP was introduced both to reduce the economic dependence from China and to raise Taiwan's international visibility in the Southeast and South Asia region. In such media content, Taiwan has usually been shaped in a positive way as a vibrant democracy and responsible member of international community complying with the important global issues, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goal, e.g., the UN Climate Framework Convention. Eventually, the New Southbound Policy is being framed as a positive concept that shapes attractive Taiwan's image.

Diversionary Behavior for Weak States: A Case Study of Taiwan

This paper explores the mechanisms and circumstances under which leaders in weak states adopt diversionary behavior to deal with domestic problems. We examine the case of Taiwan to see if its President, Tsai Ingwen, has adopted diversionary behavior from 2016 to the present. We found that, unlike great powers, weak-state leaders often resort to non-force tactics such as blaming foreign opponents, but the emergence of diversionary behavior is conditional on the stability of their relationship with a major power. In the case of Taiwan, Tsai adopted a more confrontational foreign policy toward China only when USA–Taiwan relations had become more stable and more favorable toward Taiwan. Future work could continue to explore the circumstances and tools unique to weak states’ diversionary behavior.

Taiwan 2019 and the 2020 elections: Tsai Ing-Wen’s triumph

Taiwan 2019 and the 2020 elections: Tsai Ing-Wen’s triumph

The Race to Zero?: China's Poaching of Taiwan's Diplomatic Allies

The election of Tsai Ing-wen as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in 2016 reignited Beijing's quest to poach Taiwan's diplomatic allies. Between her election in January 2016 and reelection in January 2020, Taiwan has lost seven countries to China. After eight years of a “diplomatic truce” under President Ma Ying-jeou, China re-started its multi-pronged strategy to pressure Taiwan into eventual unification, and one of the key tactics is to poach all of Taiwan's now-15 remaining diplomatic allies to eliminate its international legitimacy. This article seeks to explain what, if any, benefits formal diplomatic relations provide Taiwan and the ways in which Beijing induces countries to switch ties. It concludes by providing recommendations for what actions the United States can undertake to slow the impending completion of the “race to zero.”

How Taiwan Stands Up to China

In January 2020, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen won reelection with a commanding 57 percent of the vote. The result was a setback for China's Taiwan policy under Xi Jinping, and it demonstrated the impressive resilience of Taiwan's democracy in the face of a relentless pressure campaign from Beijing. These elections illustrated a paradox: Taiwan's economy is deeply entwined with the Chinese mainland's, yet Taiwan has proved especially resistant to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence operations. The surprising reversals in the 2020 race suggest that the CCP still struggles to understand how best to influence public opinion in Taiwan.

Unbalanced deterrence: coercive threat, reassurance and the US-China rivalry in Taiwan strait

After Tsai Ing-wen was elected, both Mainland China and the United States realized that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has undergone fundamental changes. In order to curb Taiwan’s independence policy, the Mainland China has strengthened its coercive threats against Taiwan while the US chose to increase its strategic commitment to Taiwan and revisit the One-China policy. This article argues the current framework between China and US on Taiwan issue is collapsing. The rising of Mainland China is the root cause for this round tension, however, Tsai Ing-wen refused to accept the 92 consensus which was the trigger. This article elaborates the argument that the delicate balance in the Taiwan Strait is declining, which both China and the United Stated have increased their deterrent threats to each other while decreased their reassurances, and regional crisis is emerging. For the leaders of China and the United States, it is urgent to manage the emerging Taiwan Strait crisis and prevent the situation from going out of control.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS OF STRATEGIC TRIANGLE AMONG CHINA, TAIWAN AND UNITED STATES (1996-2016)


 Purpose: The paper aims to analyze the political and economic relations between China and Taiwan from 1996 and 2016.
 Methodology/Approach: Multi-method methodology is applied to understand 20 years of complex interdependency relation between China and Taiwan. A logistic regression model is used to stablish the interactions among the variables and then a historical perspective provides an in-depth discussion regarding the political entities’ relationship.
 The findings: China as the principal Taiwanese trade partner provokes a dilemma to Taiwan, because these condition pressure to Taiwanese government adopt international insertion that don’t compromise the Chinese preferences. Also, China hostile diplomacy, situation in strategic triangle among China, Taiwan and United States, and electoral period correspond the other variables that influences Taiwanese political behavior.
 Research Limitation/implication: The analyses don’t cover the Tsai Ing-wen government but indicates the possibilities to the current administration.
 Originality/Value of paper: Although the paper has a historical limitation, the originality is the use of multi-method approach. This paper contributes in methodological and theorical assessment about economic and political relations between China and Taiwan.
 

Accounting for the Recent Uptick in US–Taiwan Relations

This article assesses the Donald J Trump administration’s pursuit of closer relations with Taiwan beginning in March 2018, which some observers labelled as “playing the Taiwan card”. The US trade dispute with China was the backdrop. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and her party exaggerated the significance of this as they head towards an election in January 2020. It was uncertain, however, how lasting US policies might be and if the trend would continue if and when the trade war ended.