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.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
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