Recent events seem to suggest that the line between entertainment and politics is easy to cross. In the US, Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger took the California governorship. In Taiwan, former actress May Chin (高金素梅) now serves as a legislator, while television star and singer Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) is expected to run for office. And in Japan, newly-elected Councilor Ren Hou is the celebrity-turned-politician of the moment.
However, in Taiwan, Ren Hou's claim to fame is not her status as 1988's "Clarion Girl," an award generally seen as a springboard to other opportunities in the entertainment industry.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Nor is she known for her work as an information broadcast personality. In Taiwan, Ren Hou is known as the first ethnic Taiwanese to be elected to Japan's upper legislative house, the House of Councilors.
Ren Hou was born to a Taiwanese father and Japanese mother, and is a naturalized Japanese citizen, but she has been called Taiwan's native daughter nevertheless. She is known as Lien Fang (
In Japan's legislative elections last month, the 36-year-old Ren Hou, a member of Japan's primary opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, took away the third highest number of votes in the hotly contested Tokyo district, beating out eight other candidates.
It is an indication of Ren Hou's status in Taiwan that she was ushered to sit next to Vice President Annette Lu (
Having worked as a reporter four years ago, Ren Hou traveled to Taiwan previously to cover President Chen Shui-bian (
Asked what she plans to speak with the president about during the meeting, she responded that they would most likely touch upon issues of diplomacy and possibilities for future interaction between Taiwan and Japan.
"Japanese diplomacy is strange; it holds that Taiwan is not a country. However, my father is a native of Taiwan. Why isn't Taiwan a country?" Ren Hou said.
"Her father was born here and she is Japanese now. However, she feels that Taiwan is a complete country. What she said was very clear, even though she sometimes has an accent," National Policy Advisor Fan Jen-fei (
"Japan is too polite when dealing with China, taking a low profile. My father is Taiwanese and my mother Japanese, and I hope to play a role on behalf of Taiwan. The vice president [Lu] called on Japanese support. Japan will be the first to support Taiwan," Ren Hou said, while addressing the Democratic Pacific Assembly yesterday.
Ren Hou also told reporters yesterday that she brought her children, fraternal twins, with her to Taiwan, and she plans to show them her father's home in Changhua.
With crowds of reporters and government officials fighting to speak with Ren Hou yesterday as she got up from her seat next to the vice president, Ren Hou confessed that she was a bit nervous being back in Taiwan.
"Because I am now a councilor in Japan's Diet now, my status is a bit different. Thus, I am a bit nervous," Ren Hou confessed.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle