Chow Mei-ching (
Frequently photographed in a black shirt and blue jeans with no makeup, Chow has shunned the limelight and insisted on going about her normal life ever since Ma entered politics.
Chow has worked as a lawyer for Mega International Commercial Bank for more than 20 years and seldom accompanied Ma to public functions.
Even after her husband won the presidency on March 22, Chow kept a low-profile and went to work by bus the following Monday.
"Please don't call me the president's wife. I am department director Chow," she told reporters who followed her onto the bus earlier last week, turning on her MP3 player and ignoring their inquiries.
On Tuesday, Chow said in a written statement that she would continue working as the head of the legal department of the government-controlled bank, defending her right to work amid debate over whether she should leave her job following her husband's inauguration on May 20.
"My work involves providing legal advice to the bank and does not include banking management, the company's operations or decision-making," Chow said in the statement. "It's impossible for me to be involved in the transfer of benefits."
Chow said she would consider leaving the bank if her work adversely affects the bank's reputation or its operations, or if her workload poses a negative impact on her duties as first lady.
Some political observers are not convinced, however, saying that by working for a state-run company, she was bound to run into situations where a conflict of interest may arise.
If Chow stays on the job after Ma is sworn in as president, she would be the first president's wife in Taiwan to have a separate career.
Ma's spokesman, Wang Yu-chi (
Married to one of the nation's most popular politicians, Chow has tried hard to avoid publicity and protect her privacy. Often confronted by a barrage of reporters and camera crews waiting in front of her apartment, she quietly goes her way, saying nothing but "thank you" to most questions.
Even when faced with allegations of insider trading and stealing newspapers while studying at Harvard, Chow defended herself only through written statements.
Unlike her public image of the poker-faced, "cool Mrs. Ma," Chow is a lovely approachable person in private, Wang said.
"Mrs. Ma is nothing like what you see on TV. She is friendly and thoughtful, and the campaign staff all like her a lot," he said.
Chen Yi-ling (
Chen recalled that during the campaign tour, Chow memorized all of the staff names on the first day and offered to help them with the luggage or prepare food for lunch and dinner.
"She was easygoing and attentive. I think she is more approachable than Mr. Ma," she said.
Although Chow did not stump for Ma until the final days of election campaign, she showed her support for her husband with her signature gesture: greeting voters by grasping both of their hands and doing a 90-degree bow.
Chen said Chow suffered from lower back pain but insisted on doing the 90-degree bow when greeting voters as a way to express her sincerity. However, some local cable news channels found fault with the gesture, saying Chow lacked sincerity because she did not look at people directly in the eyes when she shook hands with them.
As a lawyer, Chow has helped Ma prepare for debates during the two Taipei mayoral contests and the presidential race.
Ma expressed his gratitude for Chow's help before a mayoral debate when seeking a second term.
"However, sometimes she can be a tough sergeant," Ma said at the time, adding jokingly that "the biggest source of pressure for me is not my opponent, but my wife."
Commenting on Chow's decision to continue working while first lady, Shih Cheng-feng (
"She has ignored the fact that she is no longer an ordinary person. As the first lady, she should sacrifice her rights and focus her efforts on assisting the president," he said.
Women's rights groups agreed that Chow should avoid any potential conflict of interest, but extended their support for Chow to keep working while first lady.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
RSS