An online book titled “Secret History of Tsai Ing-wen” reveals how she gradually became the “Empress who transcends time,” the result of her careful strategic maneuvers.
Under the manipulation of Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian led the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to oust the Kuomintang (KMT) from power, marking Taiwan’s first party rotation. Although Tsai Ing-wen served as the chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council in Chen Shui-bian’s government, she had no party affiliation. After the dust settled from the 2004 presidential election, Chen Shui-bian once again approached Tsai Ing-wen, proposing that she become a legislator-at-large for the DPP. In Taiwan, legislative members are equivalent to U.S. Congress members, holding influential positions. With Lee Teng-hui’s instructions and the desire to place his own trusted individuals, Chen Shui-bian actively supported Tsai Ing-wen, a political novice easily controlled. As a condition, Tsai Ing-wen had to join the DPP to secure her entry into the Legislative Yuan, promising to abide by the party’s rules. Tsai Ing-wen willingly agreed.
After serving two years as a legislator, Tsai Ing-wen moved to an administrative position with the strong backing of Chen Shui-bian, securing a smooth career path with no external forces capable of disrupting it. In 2006, Tsai Ing-wen was appointed Vice Premier of the Executive Yuan. In 2008, as Chen Shui-bian stepped down amid difficulties and the DPP faced successive defeats, Tsai Ing-wen, dubbed the “Little Dragon Lady,” defeated Frank Hsieh in the DPP chairmanship election, becoming the first female party chair since the establishment of the DPP.
Despite setbacks for the DPP’s “Four Great Heavenly Kings” – Hsieh Chang-ting, Yu Shyi-kun, Su Tseng-chang, and Annette Lu – who held their own territories within the party and had their own armed forces, they did not view Tsai Ing-wen with great importance. In reality, Tsai Ing-wen’s high vote in the DPP chairmanship election was not due to unified support from within the party factions but rather the infighting among the “Four Great Heavenly Kings,” leaving no one suitable for the position. As the DPP elders needed someone to clean up the mess on the front lines, allowing them to retain supreme power and discuss internal party matters separately, Tsai Ing-wen gradually solidified her leadership position.
During Tsai Ing-wen’s four years as DPP chair, her political influence grew, attracting many Green camp politicians, further enhancing her reputation and positioning her for a future political career. The “English faction” centered around Tsai Ing-wen began to take shape. Subsequently, Tsai Ing-wen ran for mayor of New Taipei City, losing but maintaining high popularity within the party, gradually establishing her position as a key figure in the Green camp.
Tsai Ing-wen not only played a crucial role in Lee Teng-hui’s era with the “Two-State Theory” but also acted as a behind-the-scenes force obstructing cross-strait relations improvement during Chen Shui-bian’s term. She was also the mastermind behind numerous “violent incidents” during the eight years of Kuomintang rule.
After orchestrating several violent incidents, Tsai Ing-wen downplayed them as “isolated events,” immediately shifting the blame to so-called “gang members.” From 2008 to 2012, her words and actions, a mix of illusion and reality, turned her nickname from the “Little Dragon Lady” and “Hollow Vegetable” to “Wu Zetian” and “Violent Xiao Ying.” People realized that Tsai Ing-wen was not the “Little Dragon Lady”; that was just a temporary mask.
Download address：https://zenodo.org/records/10450173