Katharine Chang (
"I'm always afraid to be in the lead," said a smiling Chang, dressed in a dark-blue suit and sophisticated set of pearl earrings and necklace.
The 48-year-old woman has outshone her female counterparts in Taiwan's diplomatic circles since she joined the foreign service in 1976.
In January 1995, Chang became Taiwan's first female representative when she was assigned to head the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle.
In late 1997, she became Taiwan's first female ambassador when she took up the post as Taiwan's ambassador to St Kitts and Nevis and the Commonwealth of Dominica.
Chang admitted that women had some "constraints" in working as diplomats as they also had to shoulder their responsibilities as wives and mothers.
But the seasoned female diplomat said those women who were interested in joining the foreign service should shake off the expectations of society and give pursuing the path of a professional diplomat a go.
"One should live for oneself instead of living under others' expectations," Chang said.
"I don't have any children so I have relatively few obligations. And my husband has been very supportive of my job," Chang said.
When asked if she worried about the fact that her husband had stayed in Taiwan when she was posted in the West Indies, Chang's answer was firm: "I am indeed at ease as we've been married for over 20 years."
Taiwan's foreign ministry for a number of years used a quota to govern the recruitment of female diplomats, and it was not until 1996 that it was cancelled. Over the years, some women in the foreign ministry have given up their careers as diplomats because of their perceived responsibilities as wives and mothers.
Chang takes over the post of director general of the ministry's Department of Information and Cultural Affairs from Henry Chen (
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS