Accompanied by his running mate Annette Lu (
The first promise, Chen said, was that if elected, he would ensure that women make up 25 percent of his cabinet.
Second, he promised that Lu would not act like a "vase," staying silent while supporting him.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Her voice will be heard, and she will actively join in the national administration," Chen said.
Third, Chen promised that the future chairperson of the cabinet-level Women's Rights Promotion Association would be the premier, instead of the deputy premier as is currently the case.
Members of Chen's campaign staff said his next three policy announcements would all focus on women's issues, an indication that his campaign theme has shifted from opposing to "black-gold" politics to appealing to women and minority groups.
But critics said getting women's votes would not be so easy.
"The country's national position needs to be adjusted to include a women's viewpoint," Chen said, adding that Taiwan should focus attention on caring for its people, paying special attention to childcare services and senior citizen's needs.
In order to implement such a program, Chen said he would adjust the framework of both the administration and the budget.
Sociologist Fu Li-yeh (
Annette Lu, who is a longtime feminist, said Chen was one of those hard-to-find people, a "new good man."
She said the Chen-Lu ticket is a promise that Taiwan's gender equality is not far away.
Chen's white paper received the endorsement of many feminist leaders, including Liu Yu-hsiu (
Liu is also the convenor of Chen's women's policy think tank -- the Women Policy Group of the National Policy Commission (
"From this month on, we are focusing the direction of our campaign on women, youngsters and the urban middle-class," said Kuo Jun-ming (
However, critics said it is still uncertain if Chen will attract women's votes.
Most women's groups are not set up as political organizations, said a feminist critic who requested anonymity.
While these groups have been involved in legislative lobbying in the past, they have been indifferent to political campaigning, she said -- and this has been a disadvantage for Taiwan's women's movement over the past 10 years, she said.
The women's support group for the Chen campaign -- the Shue-tan-tan campaign group (水噹噹助選團) -- now has around 1,600 members, but its recruiting impact needs further observation, she said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique