Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's new president, has a reputation as a patient, canny negotiator and she will need all those skills and more as she takes responsibility for what is potentially one of Asia's most dangerous flash points.
Tsai, 59, leader of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was sworn in Friday as the first female president of Taiwan, a beacon of democracy off the coast of Communist Party-ruled China.
Tsai pledged to defend the country and abide by the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, as she took the oath of office.