Prior to Tsai's election to the Legislative Yuan, he served in local government, first as spokesperson of Xinzhuang.[3] He was then elected to Xinzhuang's local council as its youngest member in 1982 and served two terms,[1][2] followed by eight years as mayor.[4] He held Taipei County's second district from 1999 to 2008. Tsai led the Taipei County Sports Association for eight years, and, in 1998, chaired the national-level federation of local sporting associations.[5] In 2001, Tsai entered the Kuomintang party primary for Taipei County Magistrate.[6] The Pan-Blue Coalition chose a unified ticket represented by New Party member Wang Chien-shien, who lost to incumbent Su Tseng-chang.[7][8]
During his legislative tenure, Tsai commented on the May 2001 fire that damaged the Eastern Science Park in his district.[9] In 2002, he led a protest advocating for increased resource allocation to local governments,[10] and was named the deputy chair of the newly established Taiwan-Britain Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association.[11] The following year, Tsai took part in a ceremony marking the first time Taiwan's partially state-owned flag carrier, China Airlines, had operated a direct flight to mainland China.[12] Tsai supported the Taipei Metro's plans to construct a depot at the site of the Losheng Sanatorium, a topic of debate throughout 2007.[13][14] That year, Tsai also expressed support for Taipei County Magistrate Chou Hsi-wei's decision to promote 140 police officers.[15] After leaving the legislature, Tsai headed the Taipei County chapter of the Kuomintang.[16] During a portion of Chou's magisterial tenure, Tsai was a deputy magistrate of Taipei County.[17][18] As deputy magistrate, Tsai was a member of the task force convened during the transition of Taipei County into the special municipality named New Taipei City.[19] After Lee Hung-chun decided not to run for the Kuomintang in August 2015, Tsai was considered for the party's legislative nomination in New Taipei 4, which instead went to Chen Mao-chia.[20][21]
In 2015, Tsai returned to sports promotion,[22] including leading the Taiwanese delegation in the 2022 Asian Games and attending the 2024 Summer Olympics while serving as a vice president of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee.[23] In the 2025 CTOC presidential election, Tsai ran unopposed and was elected to succeed Lin Hung-dow [zh].[24][25]
