Instead of criticism and lectures for her poor performance, Minister of Economic Affairs Christine Tsung (
Tsung herself obviously has not been discouraged, despite doubt over her competency and calls for her resignation from opposition lawmakers.
Tsung said she "has survived" Taiwan's legislative culture, which the group of female lawmakers likened to a "beast jungle."
Celebrating Women's Day yesterday, DPP lawmakers Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), Tang Pi-o (唐碧娥) and Chou Ya-shu (周雅淑) handed over three bouquets of roses -- in red, white and pink respectively -- to Premier Yu Shyi-kun during an interpellation session in the legislature and wanted Yu to present them to Tsung, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and his own wife.
The three lawmakers said Tsung is like a red rose that symbolizes passion and beauty and splendor, while Tsai is like a white rose, symbolizing composure, implicitness and purity.
They said Tsung and Tsai should emulate each other's key qualities, so that both could become pink roses.
According to the lawmakers, Tsung has received public criticism that her performance does not match her appearance, and that Tsai's calmness has made her as plain as a black-and-white film.
In reply, Tsung said that though her speechwriting and communication skills may be insufficient, communicating is not directly linked to ability.
Tsung said that given a little more time, she will show the people that she can do the job.
She also said criticism was a part of politics and democratic development and that political disputes often lead to unfair attacks -- something she says she will have to get used to.
Tsung said she remains willing to take part in the process in the hope that some day partisanship and ethnic background will no longer rule Taiwan's politics.
Women's rights groups voiced support for Tsung yesterday, urging male lawmakers to stop their sexual discrimination against female Cabinet members.
In a statement jointly released by the Female Studies Association (女學會) and the Awakening Foundation (婦女新知基金會), the groups said that the Legislative Yuan should be the first to abide by the Gender Equality Labor Law (兩性工作平等法) that took effect yesterday and create a work environment free of sexual discrimination.
The groups pointed out that male lawmakers including Shen Fu-hsiung (
Among the examples cited, Chiu tried to teach Tsung the right way to bow and Shen had said Tsung should have turned down the position of Minister of Economic Affairs, because he himself had rejected the offer to become the head of the Department of Health.
In addition, a KMT lawmaker wanted Tsung to help find him "a wife who is as beautiful as the minister."
The groups said such a remark was humiliating because the lawmaker was conjuring up the image that Tsung could be his wife.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS