A 'Tsai Ing-wen Line' takes shape in DPP, scholars say

Former Vice President Annette Lu and ex-Legislator Shen Fu-hsiung noted that the Saturday votes were the first in many years that the DPP had not seen maneuvering by Chen.

Chen emerged as a “superstar” in the early 1990s, and went on to become mayor of Taipei City and president of the country. Before falling in disgrace in 2008, Chen had had a tight control of the DPP for years.

Tsai took over the helm of the DPP when the party was in the doldrums, licking the wounds from heavy losses in the 2008 presidential and legislative elections.

A law scholar, Tsai had served as a vice premier in the DPP administration. But she had never really been a political player until she accepted the task of rebuilding the DPP.

Radicals in the party did not trust her, said Shen.

She had tried to exert pressure on the Kuomintang government by holding massive demonstrations, letting the party and its supporters play the role of an angry opposition.

But the bloodshed that marred a protest against the visit of China's envoy only rubbed salt on the party's wounds rather than help it pull itself together.

A change was called for, and Tsai decided that the DPP must now play the game in a more rational way, challenging the KMT within the institution.

She emphasizes the DPP is an opposition party with experience in government administration.

Her strategy has proved to be fruitful. The DPP garnered 45.3 percent of the votes on Saturday, the highest since Chen was reelected in 2004.

On the contrary, the KMT suffered a setback, receiving a vote share of 47.88 percent, down sharply from the 58.4 percent that sent Ma Ying-jeou to the presidency in 2008.

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