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.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
RSS