TAIPEI — The last time a woman ran a Chinese-majority nation was at the turn of the eighth century, when the fierce empress Wu Zetian ruled China. The next woman poised to take up that mantle does not have Empress Wu’s reputation for ruthlessness but Dr Tsai Ing-wen’s wonkish exterior hides a steely determination. A former law professor, Dr Tsai is the clear frontrunner in Taiwan’s presidential election.

Born in 1956, when Taiwan was in the midst of cold-war skirmishes with China, Dr Tsai grew up in a well-off family in Taipei. Her father, who ran an automobile repair business, expected her to work hard but did not encourage lofty ambitions.

“He didn’t want his children to live too comfortable a life,” she told a Taiwanese TV station last year as she made her interviewer eggs and bacon for breakfast. “My parents only asked us to be knowledgeable and useful people.”

Dr Tsai, now 59, studied law in Taipei before gaining a masters at Cornell in the United States and then a doctorate at the London School of Economics. Returning home to teach, she came to prominence when she was appointed as Taiwan’s top negotiator with China in 2000. Although Taiwan is independent in all but name, Beijing still claims the island of 23 million people as a breakaway province and most countries do not recognise it as a sovereign state for fear of upsetting an ever more powerful China.

As a firm believer in Taiwan’s separate identity, Dr Tsai joined the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2004 and was elected to the legislature before securing the party’s chairmanship in 2008.

“When people in many Asian countries are still suffering from authoritarianism, we in Taiwan are immensely proud of our democracy and cherish our hard-earned social and political rights and individual freedom,” she said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington DC think-tank, in June.

Some DPP hardliners want to see Taiwan declare formal independence, adding to Beijing’s fears about the party’s possible return to office. Dr Tsai has assured voters — and partners overseas — that she wants to maintain the overall status quo. She does, however, want more legislative oversight of cross-strait relations.

Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT), or nationalist party, has seen its popularity slump partly because its close ties with Beijing have not delivered promised economic benefits.

Dr Tsai told CSIS: “While I advocate for constructive dialogues with China, I will ensure the process is democratic and transparent, and that the economic benefits are equitably shared.”

Although the KMT’s woes have helped give Dr Tsai a lead in the polls, her path to the brink of power has not been smooth. In 2010, she narrowly lost the race to be Mayor of New Taipei to the KMT’s Eric Chu, who is standing against her in this week’s presidential contest. In 2012, she aimed for the presidency but lost by a narrow margin.

Many politicians would give up after one such high-profile defeat, let alone two. But supporters say that Dr Tsai’s failure at the last presidential election served to stiffen her resolve and that her concession speech was the most passionate of her campaign.

Mr Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, said that she is not afraid of tough decisions. “I’d call her businesslike,” he said. “But she has a wry sense of humour and is fiercely intelligent.”

Dr Tsai lives alone in an unflashy apartment in Taipei with her two cats, and brags that she has worn the same pair of shoes for more than 16 years. She brushes off questions about her personal life, saying she has “done everything young people should have done”.

The DPP is trying to soften her aloof appearance by promoting a warmer image to young people, selling soft-toy versions of her cats as well as mugs printed with cutesy cartoon figures of her and her feline friends.

Dr Tsai has previously compared herself to Ms Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. “Her strength isn’t in her charisma among the crowd,” she said. “But her thinking and determination are what we need in governing a modern country.”

DPP supporter Yo Su-ling believes she has matured through adversity. “All the others just talk but she always thinks before she speaks,” says the jade and tea trader. “We know full independence from China is impossible right now so we need someone like her who is a good negotiator to get the best deal for Taiwan.” FINANCIAL TIMES