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.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS