President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), acting in his capacity as chairman of the DPP, expressed appreciation for the hard work of modern women on Women and Children's Day yesterday, saying he came to realize how tough a woman's job is after becoming a grandfather. He spoke while overseeing the opening of a new child-care and breast-feeding center at party headquarters.
Borrowing the popular term "a new good man," Chen said that establishing the center was aimed at turning the DPP into "a new good party" that has concern for women's rights.
The term "new good man" in Chinese refers to a man who takes the initiative to do domestic chores and help with the children.
Chen acknowledged that he did not understand how much hard work that it takes to raise a baby until he became a grandfather last year. He recalled one occasion when he tried to comfort his crying grandson.
"[The infant] did not heed my words, even though I am commander-in-chief. I felt very defeated because the baby would keep crying until his mother came over to hold him," Chen said, drawing a roomful of laughter.
The DPP chairman said that the party chose to unveil the center on Women and Children's Day to demonstrate the party's commitment to the issues pertaining to women's needs and gender equality.
When Chen was a Taipei City mayor, he set up the Taipei City Government's first breast-feeding space. He said the idea has proven to be not only very popular but also a practical necessity. He hopes the same idea now will benefit the women at DPP headquarters.
Before leaving the event, Chen reminded men to become more aware of the mental and physical burdens women feel from the responsibilities that they must fulfill on a daily basis at work and at home. The pressure is beyond most men's imagination and men should start sharing the burden at home, he said.
Also yesterday, Chen received a group of children with disabilities who received wheelchairs from a local charity.
Besides lauding the efforts of the Eden Social Welfare Foundation (
Over the years, the Eden Foundation has given more than 2,200 wheelchairs to children, but Chen said the amount was not enough to meet the demand of 50,000. According to statistics by the UN, one person is killed or becomes handicapped every 22 minutes because of landmines. Since 1996, the Eden Foundation has given out 6,577 wheelchairs worldwide. Now that the US-led invasion of Iraq will add to this figure, the foundation said it will help the victims of that war, too.
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