President Tsai Ing-wen is “two-faced” and her single status means that she may be “extreme” politically, a Chinese state media column published on Tuesday.

The author, Wang Weixing, is the director of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and a scholar at the Academy of Military Science. He said that “[Tsai] is a complicated person who grew up in the twisted Taiwanese society and political environment.”

Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen. Photo: Tsai Ing-wen, via Facebook.

“Analysing from a personality point of view, as a single female politician, she does not have the burden of feelings of love, there is no ‘family’ as a constraint, no kids as worries – her political style and executive strategy tends to be emotional and extreme,” he said.

The director also said: “Ultimately, Tsai Ing-wen’s character is clearly two-faced – politically, her management style is one face, and privately she shows another face. It is very deceiving.”

The article on Xinhua, originally titled “Exposing Tsai Ing-wen,” has been deleted. However, the article remains available on other Chinese media outlets that have reposted the article under the title “Xinhua: Being single may cause Tsai Ing-wen’s political style to lean towards extremism.”

‘Positive dialogue’

Tsai was elected as voters rejected closer ties with China. During her inauguration speech last Friday, she called for “positive dialogue” with China. On her first working day on Monday, her government drop charges against sunflower movement activists.

Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration

Beijing warned Tsai on Saturday that it would cut off critical contacts if she did not state her support for “one China,” which encompasses the idea that the mainland and Taiwan are parts of one sovereign state.