Tsai Ing-wen, the petite 67-year-old woman, with the discreet appearance of a top of the class, will leave the political scene on May 20, with a record popularity rate (58% of Taiwanese approve of her action), much higher than that of his party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Educated at the best universities in Taiwan, the United States and the United Kingdom, she is considered by some to be the greatest president in the contemporary history of the island.
Since the leader came to power in 2016, Taiwan has imposed itself impressively in at least three sectors: international geopolitics, the most advanced technologies, and respect for human rights.
The island that China considers to be a rebel province that will sooner or later have to be “reunified” has long remained a pariah of the international community. But Taiwan has strengthened its own identity by emancipating itself from its heavy Chinese heritage, and is now cited as an example for its many successes: its management of the Covid-19 crisis, its democratic transition, its stability at the heart of the stormy relationship between China and the United States, and his stoicism in the face of hostile declarations from President Xi Jinping and provocations from the Chinese army.
One of Tsai Ing-wen’s last public engagements, a few days before her departure, was to welcome the famous Taiwanese-American drag queen, Nymphia Wind, to congratulate her on winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, a very popular television competition.
“You became our Taiwanese mother”
The drag queen, perched on sequined high heels, wore an extravagant chick yellow suit, in contrast to Tsai Ing-wen’s monastic outfit – loose gray jacket over black pants and soft shoes. “You have become our Taiwanese mother. Thank you for all the advances you have made: first female president, first authorization of gay marriage, first drag queen performance in a presidential palace… declared Nymphia Wind, moved to tears, after a spectacular performance under the impassive gaze of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Kuomintang, the Chinese nationalist party and of the Republic of China, which remains the official name from Taiwan.
In addition to the ministerial appointment, in 2016, of Audrey Tang, an IT guru who describes herself as post-gender, it is undoubtedly the legalization of gay marriage, in 2019, which will remain the strongest marker of the mutation of Taiwan towards an officially progressive society.
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