A museum for Yu Chen Yueh-ying (余陳月瑛), commonly called the “Taiwanese Matsu” (台灣媽祖婆), was officially opened at the Yu family residence in Kaohsiung’s Chiaotou District (橋頭) on Thursday.
Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲), her son and Ba Gua Liao Foundation chairman, said that the museum has collected numerous photographs of his mother and documents her transition from housewife to a political figure.
The museum also catalogues how Taiwanese women have become a part of the national political sphere, he said.
Photo: Su Fu-nan, Taipei Times
Born in 1926 in Kaohsiung’s Yancheng District (鹽埕), Yu Chen was the youngest of 11 children.
Her family was considered well- off as her father, Chen Tsai-hsing (陳再興), was the owner of a mechanical products factory and a sugar factory.
Yu Chen once said that she expected to marry a doctor or a college professor, but quite unexpectedly, her family agreed to a matchmaker’s proposal for her to marry into the Yu family.
At the time of the marriage, her husband, Yu Jui-yen (余瑞言), the son of Yu Teng-fa (余登發), was studying law at National Taiwan University (NTU).
Yu Chen’s transition from housewife to politician began in 1963, during the election for the Taiwan Provincial Council. Yu Teng-fa said that the female candidate from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must not be allowed to win the guaranteed seat for women and thus support KMT members in the council.
The Yu family asked Yu Chen to run as a candidate three days before the registration deadline. She won the seat with 48,000 votes, and went on to serve as provincial councilor for four terms.
In 1981, Yu Chen ran for Kaohsiung County commissioner, but lost to the KMT’s Tsai Ming-yao (蔡明耀) by just over 3,000 votes.
Undaunted, she set her sights on the Legislative Yuan and was elected a legislator in 1982.
In 1985, Yu Chen ran for Kaohsiung county commissioner again and won by 30,000 votes to become the nation’s first female county chief.
Though the Yu family has always been a part of the Kaohsiung political scene, it reached its peak under Yu Chen and the family’s political influence in southern Taiwan remains unmatched to this day.
Yu Chen died last year at the age of 87. She is credited as the founder of the Kao Ying Industrial Commercial Vocational High School, the Kao Yuan Vocational School and what is now known as Kao Yuan University.
The museum is open to the public 10am to 5pm on Sundays.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS