Outraged Taiwanese yesterday took to the Internet to slam sexist comments by a Chinese analyst saying that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) practices “emotional” politics because she is a single woman.
The scathing attack on Tuesday from a member of China’s organization overseeing relations with Taiwan came amid heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing after the election of the nation’s first female president.
Tsai’s office and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) declined to comment on the remarks, but enraged politicians and Taiwanese openly voiced their displeasure.
“It is such a ridiculous remark and discrimination against single people,” DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) said.
“Everyone has the right to choose their lifestyle by having partners or staying single and that should be respected,” Yeh said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) was equally incensed over the comments.
“Such a personal attack is extremely improper,” Wang said.
“It is gender discrimination and we strongly oppose such remarks,” Wang said.
The remarks from Wang Weixing (王衛星), a military analyst and a board member of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, said that Tsai’s politics were affected by her status as a “single female politician.”
“In political style and strategy, often she tends to be emotional, personal and extreme,” Wang Weixing wrote.
“In terms of political tricks, she considers strategy less, tactical details more and short-term goals are paramount, while long-term goals are less taken into account,” he wrote.
Internet users in Taiwan joined lawmakers in slamming Wang Weixing’s comments.
“Why does he not criticize a bunch of married male politicians who are having extramarital affairs?” one post on the Facebook page of the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) said.
“[He is] a chauvinist pig who hurts gender equality,” the post said.
“It is a crime to be single?” one message on the Chinese-language Apple Daily’s Web site said.
“Such a remark only shows the world how perverted China is,” it said.
Another post on the Apple Daily’s site said: “China is so barbaric.”
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