In a new book by Dan Abrams, Man Down, the legal analyst from ABC TV reached “beyond a reasonable doubt” the conclusion that ”women are better cops, drivers, gamblers, spies, world leaders, beef tasters, hedge fund managers and just about everything else,” based on studies and research.
As political leaders, women are still greatly outnumbered by men, but they have been increasing in number in recent years. Best known among past and present female political leaders are former Israeli prime minister (1969-1974) Golda Meir, former British prime minister (1979-1990) Margaret Thatcher, former Indian prime minister (1966-1977, 1980-1984) Indira Gandhi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Today there are at least 17 countries with a female president or prime minister, including Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Liberia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Iceland, Costa Rica, Finland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Kyrgyzstan. Nearly every major region in the world has a country with a female leader, except East Asia.
This is particularly troubling when Southeast Asia has had two countries (the Philippines and Indonesia) with female leaders in the last three decades. Why not East Asian countries? Confucian patriarchal tradition is so deep-rooted in East Asia that even Japan, the most democratic in the region, has failed to produce a female leader.
True to its name, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) produced a female vice president. Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) is deservedly proud of her political achievements during her terms in office from 2000 to 2008.
Understandably, she would very much like to be the first female president of Taiwan and has recently made known her intention to run as a DPP candidate in next year’s presidential election. However, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) appears to have a much better chance than Lu of becoming not only the first female president in Taiwan, but in East Asia.
Tsai holds graduate degrees from universities in the UK and the US, she was a university professor and she held ranking government positions, including the equivalent of a deputy prime minister. As the behind-the-scenes architect of the “two country” theory, her views and ability to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty are beyond question. In addition, as the chairperson of the DPP since May 2008, she has helped lead the revival and resurgence of the party.
With her calm demeanor, rationality and integrity, Tsai is widely popular in Taiwan. It is fairly clear that she is not only the best qualified female presidential candidate, but simply the best presidential candidate for Taiwan.
It is indeed time for Taiwan’s national interest as well as history that Tsai is nominated by the DPP to be its presidential candidate and then elected directly by the people to become Taiwan’s first female president in March next year.
Chen Ching-chih is a professor emeritus of history at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not