Newsmaker: Chen Chu, the toughest ever to head the CLA

From halting the importation of Indonesian workers early last month to postponing labor talks with Thailand indefinitely last week, Chen Chu (陳菊), chairwoman of the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA), is seen as the toughest chair ever of the CLA.

Her previous experience as a human rights and democracy activist is the reason for her toughness, her friends say.

"She believes in the idea that Taiwan is an independent country and should enjoy equal dignity with other countries," said Peng Tien-haw (彭天豪), a former aide to Chen.

As a former human-rights activist, Chen has set numerous rules to prevent foreign workers from being charged excessive brokerage fees, an example of which can be found in the pact between Taiwan and Thailand that was to be signed last week.

The pact was to enable Taiwanese employers to recruit Thai workers without going through brokerage agencies. It would have helped Thai workers to save as much as NT$60,000 each in fees.

Pong, who specialized in foreign labor policy when he worked for Chen, said Taiwan's foreign labor policy today is actually a reflection of Chen's tough character.

Aside from pushing brokerage agencies to decrease fees, "She never avoided publicly criticizing officials from southeast Asian countries who cooperated with brokerage agencies to make money from workers, which is something most Taiwanese government officials wouldn't have done," Pong said.

Because of her involvement in the opposition movement, she missed opportunities to fall in love or have children. But those experiences shape Chen as a mature politician who is able to handle matters appropriately.

"She has never had any professional training for labor or social welfare issues. But her care toward different social groups allows her pick up things easily," said DPP Legislator Hong Chi-chang (洪其昌).

After failing on the college entrance exam, Chen became involved in the movement to fight for democracy and human rights when she was 19 years old.

In 1969, Chen became a secretary for Kuo Yu-hsin (郭雨新), pioneer of the tangwai, or outside the party, democracy movement.

Chen was arrested and detained for 13 days for collecting information related to the democratic movement in 1978.

She was also detained for six years and two months as a result of the Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件), which occurred on Dec. 10, 1979. The KMT government imprisoned several people after the anti-government parade organized by Formosa magazine -- a front for a broad alliance of tangwai activists.

"I feel that I started carrying a middle-age person's heavy burdens when I was 19 years old," Chen recalled of her early years.

"I wasn't brave. I just didn't know I should be afraid at the time. But after 28 years experience in the anti-government movement, I am capable of facing any incident fearlessly," Chen said when she was the director of the Social Affairs Bureau under the Taipei City government in 1997.

Deputy Minister of Education Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠), a close friend of Chen's, said that her experience as an anti-government activist allows Chen to handle the current diplomatic row with Thailand's government with sophistication.

In Fan's opinion, from the perspective of the interests of Taiwan, Thai workers and the CLA, Chen's performance has been flawless. Her belief in human rights, especially, "gives us the impression that Taiwan cares about Thai workers more than the Thai government," Fan said.