Chung Chin turns a page as new Sogo chairwoman

Segueing from an academic to a politician and back to an academic, Chung Chin (鍾琴), the government's first female spokesperson, opened a new chapter in her life when she became the first chairwoman of Pacific Sogo Department Store, the country's largest department store chain, last Monday.

Chung, who had never been in the political spotlight before she was named the head of the Government Information Office (GIO) in April 2000, was a research fellow specializing in cross-strait economics and trade at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research.

In October 2000 she became minister without portfolio when then vice premier Chang Chung-hsiung (張俊雄) was promoted to replace Tang Fei (唐飛) as premier.

Tang, a mainlander and a KMT member, found himself in an awkward position as the first premier in the DPP-led government since the party came to power in May 2000.

Chung eventually withdrew from the political spotlight and returned to academia in February last year when Chang stepped down as premier.

Although Chung has never been in the retail business, it took her only 10 days to accept the offer by Douglas Hsu (徐旭東), chairman of Far Eastern Group, the parent of Far Eastern Department Stores, to head Pacific Sogo.

"My theory is that one should grab the opportunity when it comes and do one's best to get the job done," Chung said on her first day of work.

Chung took the opportunity to dismiss media speculation that her getting the NT$4 million-a-year job was due to pressure from First Lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍), who is a frequent shopper at Pacific Sogo.

"I'm not close to the first lady although I've accompanied her to see a movie once and have been invited to have dinner at her and the president's mansion when I was the government spokesperson," Chung said.

Chung, who holds a master's degree in economics from Cornell University, also denied that she got the job because of her connections with Hsu.

"I guess he was impressed with the work I did when I was a minister without portfolio and director of the Cabinet's southern service center," she said.

When Chung was a minister without portfolio, she also doubled as the director of the Cabinet's southern service center and was assigned by the premier to head a Cabinet-level task force to help solve the electricity distribution problem in southern Taiwan.

While the media seemed to enjoy comparing her with former minister of economic affairs Christine Tsung (宗才怡), Chung said she has the credentials to do the job.

"I knew exactly what lay ahead when I took the job because I don't stumble into a jungle without knowing the danger," she said. "My goal is clear -- help the company maintain its leading position in the retail market."

Tsung was replaced in March last year a mere 48 days into her term -- proving correct many critics who had said she wasn't up to the job.

In a written statement, Tsung said that she felt like a "rabbit that had mistakenly stumbled into the jungle without any knowledge of the political traps that lay all around."

Praising Chung as a woman who is "ambitious, aggressive and creative," Hsu dismissed media speculation that Wu had played a role in his decision.

"I'm particularly impressed with her [Chung's] professionalism in cross-strait economics and trade, which is crucial for the group's expansion plan in China," Hsu said.