Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday expressed the hope of seeing a female defense minister in the near future as the military now allows women to enlist in the nation's armed services.
"We have not yet seen a female deputy defense minister in Taiwan's modern history, while more than 10 countries in the world have had female defense ministers and 12 countries have had female leaders," Lu said. "I'd like to see more women participate in the decision-making process on all levels and write `herstory.'"
Lu made the remarks yesterday afternoon at the Presidential Office while holding an afternoon tea party for 26 female military officers. Among the attendees were Major-General Pan Ai-chu (潘愛珠) and General Chai Hui-chen (柴惠珍).
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Pan was the first Taiwanese woman to be promoted to the rank of major-general in more than 40 years of Taiwanese military history. She has been involved in analyzing Chinese military intelligence since joining the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) more than 20 years ago and was promoted to director of the MIB's mainland affairs research department in November 2001.
Late starter
Chai, a graduate of National Taiwan University's Horticulture Department, did not begin her military career until after she was admitted to the National Defense Medical College's Graduate Institute of Biochemistry.
With expertise in information-technology hardware and anti-virus computer software, Chai was promoted to the rank of general last month.
With Lu and Vice Minister of National Defense Ko Cheng-heng (柯承亨) looking on, the female guests appeared shy, with only a few of them daring to speak. Lu encouraged them to "stand up, speak up and step out" as modern women.
8,200 females
There are currently about 8,200 female members in the armed forces, all of them commissioned or non-commissioned officers who graduated from the nation's military academies.
The number of females serving in the nation's military is expected to rise following the passage of amendments to the Military Service Law (兵役法) last November which allow women interested in joining the military to enlist without having to first graduate from a military academy.
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