(a) "But the fact that Taiwan will become the second of China’s close and democratic neighbours to be ruled by a woman - the other being President Park Geun-Hye of South Korea - will be a constant reminder of the political revolutions China prefers to resist. China’s ruling inner circle - the Politburo Standing Committee - has never had a woman member.
(b) "she has expressed support for same-sex marriage.
(c) "Ms Tsai has an aloof, austere public image, living alone in a modest apartment with two cats, and brushing off inquiries about her private life.
"That is probably a good thing: woman in the past who rose to positions in power in the Chinese world, from empresses to the notorious wife of Chairman Mao Tse-tung, have found themselves vilified as power hungry, decadent and sexually depraved.
"Ms Tsai conforms to the Confucian image of a leader - self-disciplined, self-effacing and self-denying. She once boasted of having had the same pair of shoes for 16 years, and seems now to be demanding the same restraint of her people.
My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest, which is just pedestrian (common).
(b) Her parents, or clan, is said to be quite rich. How much, that I do not know.