Newsmakers: Legislators voice support for Liu

Lawmakers across party lines yesterday expressed their support for the Cabinet's apparent intent to appoint a woman to replace Cabinet Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), who will represent the DPP in the year-end Taipei mayoral election.

Freshman DPP Legislator-at-Large Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), of the New Tide faction, is the front runner for the post. If she is to assume the position, her vacancy will be filled by former DPP legislator Lin Chung-cheng (林忠正).

Lee has already announced his resignation verbally and is expected to officially step down from his post on June 25 when the DPP is scheduled to announce his candidacy.

DPP Legislator and spokesman of the New Tide faction Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), who has been a friend and colleague of Liu for about eight years, said that Liu's appointment as the nation's first female Cabinet secretary-general would be significant.

"We recognize the government's efforts to appoint an outstanding woman to assume the post of Cabinet secretary-general, because it recognizes not only women's role [in society] but also their abilities," Chiu said.

Analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of Liu's character, Chiu said that Liu is both professional and smart but will need to refine her negotiating skills slightly.

"A local government head, after all, is different from an executive officer at the central government," Chiu said.

Liu, who holds a masters degree in environmental engineering from Oklahoma University, once served as the director of the Bureau of Environmental Protection at the Taipei City Government when President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was the city mayor. She later took up the post of deputy commissioner of Taichung County.

"When she was the deputy commissioner, the commissioner usually played the good guy while she played the bad guy," Chiu said. "But she was so in the right and self-confident that no one could find fault with her."

Despite her self-confident disposition, Chiu said that in private Liu is just an ordinary woman who needs love and attention.

The 37-year-old is still single.

"I hope she finds the man she loves because she's such a fine woman," Chiu said.

Chiu's advice for Liu is to try to be more perceptual than rational.

"I guess her rationality may have a lot to do with her being a woman, especially a single, independent women who occupies a high-ranking position," Chiu said.

DPP lawmaker Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) believes Liu would make a good Cabinet secretary-general.

"Although I was a little bit surprised to learn of the news, I'm sure that she would do an excellent job," Yeh said. She described Liu as a woman who is responsible, polite and persistent.

"There are not many people nowadays who stick to what they believe in. She's an exception," Yeh said.

DPP legislative whip Wang Tuoh (王拓), who has known Liu for over a decade, said that Liu is a woman who is calm, down-to-earth, sincere and professional.

"I believe her extensive political experience makes her an excellent candidate for the post," Wang said.

KMT lawmaker Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) said that she supports the idea of promoting outstanding women to higher positions. "But I hope her [Liu's] appointment is not just made to pacify factional strife or to balance factional inequality within the DPP," Huang said.

Huang, who has known Liu since the 1990s when Liu started to get involved in social and women's rights movements, described Liu as being both professional and sober.