Mon, Oct 08, 2007 page3

• FEATURE: Women play key role in grassroots political scene

  `ENERGETIC' The DPP has been tapping into a wide base of activists with events targeting women passionate about politics and good at networking

  • By Flora Wang / STAFF REPORTER
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  Liu Mei-yueh (劉美月) may look like an ordinary stay-at-home mom hurriedly running errands and doing the grocery shopping at a traditional market, but on top of her family life, Liu is a career woman who plays an important role in mobilizing grassroots supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for political rallies.

  "DPP [Pingtung County] councilor Lee Shih-pin (李世彬) often calls her and says: `Big Sister, can you fill two tour buses for me?'" said Liu's daughter, Charlotte Tsai (蔡慧怜), who is in her late 20s.

  "And she always promises to help fill at least one tour bus [with rally participants]," Tsai said. "And then she starts calling everyone she knows."

  Liu is not on Lee's payroll, nor is she a DPP staffer, but she is a grassroots political activist who takes her role very seriously and seldom turns down the opportunity to attend a demonstration for her political beliefs.

  The DPP requires party officials on all levels to mobilize a certain number of activists to attend party events.

  As in any kind of rally, the more people, the bigger the chance of impacting on public opinion.

  Liu has built up a network of political activists that usually lets her draw at least 45 people for any given event.

  Tsai said that Lee's office often invites Liu and other grassroots supporters to gatherings that let everyone get to know each other and cement contacts.

  "If you ask her why [she is so active], she tells you it's the true meaning of the words `[I] love Taiwan,'" Tsai said, a few hours ahead of the DPP's Sept. 15 Kaohsiung rally in support of the government's proposed referendum on seeking UN membership using the name "Taiwan."

  Liu and a group of friends and acquaintances traveled down to Kaohsiung to participate in the 4km parade.

  The DPP has recently acknowledged the importance of women like Liu in changing the face of politics.

  "Many people mistakenly believe that men wield all the power in recruiting activists, but the truth is the power of women is what really should not be overlooked," said Hsu Chia-tien (許嘉恬), director of the DPP Department of Women's Development.

  The party has organized three "camps" in northern, central and southern Taiwan since last month for leaders of women's groups interested in learning more about political activism and the role of grassroots movements.

  The three camps attracted 640 people, Hsu said.

  The camps were originally meant to win women voters in next year's presidential pole, as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is portrayed by media as being "charming" to female voters, she said.

  But the camps have really been about "empowering" female voters by showing them the power of activism on a local level, Hsu said.

  "The role of women in political mobilization and their influence on politics have changed since 2000," she said.

  "Research has repeatedly shown that women's support for [President] Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was a decisive factor contributing to his victory in the 2000 presidential election," she said.

  "This shows the active role women have begun to play" in Taiwanese politics, Hsu said.

  The power of female political activists in mobilizing supporters probably comes as a surprise to some people, Hsu said.

  "I think it is right to say that there is a group of women within the DPP who act like they are `possessed' and campaign for the party everywhere they go when elections are approaching," Hsu said.

  "The number of people they mobilize may not be so much more than the numbers men gather, but these women have a lot more enthusiasm than their male counterparts," she said.

  "They mobilize people for you just because they support you," she said.

  The DPP started a "women speakers group" early last month to take advantage of that enthusiasm in the north, which has long been a KMT stronghold.

  One group of female activists have formed a "call-in group" that calls up political talk shows to express their opinions.

  At the women's camp in Kaohsiung last month, DPP vice presidential candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said "women can replace the campaigning style of men with their own gentle and soft persuasion."

  Hsu said that the DPP and the participants of the women's camps hoped to use their contacts to build a larger network of like-minded women.

  "Women are no longer targets of mobilization," she said. "They are the initiators."
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