I am a little embarrassed to say that it has been a long time since I had anything good to say about President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), and now that I do have something good to say, I can hardly make any “retrospective adjustments.”
However, regarding the issue of the “dress code” of Amanda Liu (劉宥彤), chief executive officer of the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co-affiliated Yonglin Foundation, I must give Tsai the thumbs-up for supporting natural, comfortable attire, and for her tolerant attitude.
On June 18, Tsai hosted an urgent meeting with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co chairman Mark Liu (劉德音), Hon Hai founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) and Amanda Liu to discuss their COVID-19 vaccine procurement bids.
After the meeting, writer Ellen Huang (黃越綏) questioned why Amanda Liu had chosen to wear a polo shirt and jeans to a meeting with the president, saying that people would find it “unacceptable.”
Amanda Liu, for her part, responded straightforwardly by accepting the criticism, apologizing to Tsai and saying that she would reflect on what she had done.
Frankly speaking, compared with obtaining vaccines, what people wear is a less serious issue at this critical point in time.
As Presidential Office spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said: “We are aware of various people’s comments regarding the way CEO Liu was dressed on that day, but as far as the president is concerned, people are free to dress as they please. She does not feel disrespected and does not think that anyone needs to apologize.”
Indeed, the most important thing for the government and the public is to work in unison to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was nice to see such a down-to-earth and people-friendly exchange. On the one hand, Amanda Liu made a prompt and sincere apology, while on the other, instead of scolding her in an officious manner, the Presidential Office spoke up for her by saying that people are free to dress as they please.
On this occasion, Tsai handled the situation really well.
Hu Wen-chi is a former spokesman for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Translated by Julian Clegg
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