Tsai fast losing the mandate of Taiwan compatriots

Aweeklong pilot strike during the Spring Festival holiday season forced Taiwan-based China Airlines to cancel 214 flights, which played havoc with the travel plans of about 30,000 passengers from Feb 8 to 15.

It was only on Feb 11, three days into the strike, however, that Taiwan leader Tsai Ingwen delivered a speech asking China Airlines management and employees to hold sincere and rational talks to end the strike.

Why was Tsai so indifferent to the repercussions of the pilot strike?

According to observers and experts on the island, the pilot strike this time is the result of a power struggle within the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

The crushing defeat in the local elections in late 2018 was a big blow to the DPP, which made many DPP members question Tsai’s leadership. Lai Ching-te, a member of the DPP’s “new tide faction’’, has forged an alliance with Koo Kwang-ming, who represents extreme separatists, in an attempt to urge Tsai to abandon her plans to stand in the 2020 elections. It is therefore evident that Tsai’s authority within the party and beyond is no longer unquestionable.

To try and cement her position, Tsai sought to use the pilot strike to crack down on her rivals in the party and she has taken covert actions to intensify the power struggle within the DPP and strengthen her relationship with the United States in a bid to retain power on the island.