In light of the disappointing number of female candidates taking part in Saturday's elections, an alliance was founded yesterday to promote the increased participation of women in Taiwan politics.
The the "1130 Alliance of Female Voters," said that female candidacies had dropped from 17 percent during the last legislative and mayoral elections to a meager 13 percent this time around.
"Many women find the incessant bickering of Taiwan's political process irritating," said Wu Wei-ting (
"Another problem is that many women's groups are hesitant to campaign for any political party for fear of being politically typecast," Wu said.
The alliance, which seeks minimum quotas for female political candidates, has chosen Peng Wan-ru (彭婉如), a slain fighter for women's rights, as a focal point.
"With the declining statistics of female participation in mind, the alliance will promote women's rights and seek to broaden female participation in the government, in accordance with the goals of Peng Wan-ru before her tragic death."
Peng -- a pioneer in Taiwan's women's movement and a former DPP Women's Affairs Department chief -- was found raped and stabbed to death five years ago in Kaohsiung.
"When Peng was alive, she actively promoted a bill guaranteeing women one-quarter of all DPP candidacies for public office.
"The alliance hopes to carry on with her plans and hopes that in the near future. The 25 percent minimum will apply to all party nominations and legislative posts," Wu said.
Wu said that currently, "only city and county councilors and people's representatives have such a quota."
The alliance is a joint effort of the Peng Wan-ru Foundation, Taipei Association for The Promotion of Women's Rights, Awakening Foundation, End Child Prostitution Association of Taiwan and other non-governmental organizations dedicated to promoting women's rights.
While urging female voters not to miss the chance to cast their votes in Saturday's elections, the alliance stated that it would strive to assert women's rights and benefits on issues such as martial violence, occupational inequality and other women's issues.
"After the Dec. 1 elections," said Tsai Wan-fen (
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