Like most public figures, Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), the new Cabinet secretary-general, is strict when it comes to guarding her own privacy.
"I'm open to any kind of questions except for those that are sensational, violent, pornographic or personal," Liu said when she held her first meeting with the press at the Executive Yuan last week.
When asked whether her new job would prevent her from developing a romantic relationship, Liu -- who is 43 and single -- said she only believes in fate.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Meeting the right person doesn't just happen because you want it to happen," said the youngest-ever Cabinet secretary-general and the first woman to hold the position.
Refusing to elaborate more on the subject, Liu asked the media to respect her privacy and her family's as well.
"I'm just an ordinary Taiwanese woman and so is my family," she said. "Please respect the privacy of my own and that of family, as I do yours."
Liu, however, revealed that when she served as the deputy commissioner of the Taichung County Government, she enjoyed grocery shopping in shorts and sandals.
"And people left me alone," she said. "I think they realize that it's my individual right to go shopping in whatever outfit I like -- as long as I'm wearing something."
Talking about her dressing philosophy, Liu said she does not have any particular preference as long as clothes are "simple and comfortable."
"I'm not a brand-obsessed person," she said. "Like many Taiwanese women, I enjoy bargaining with street vendors and I feel perfectly fine about wearing secondhand clothes."
To keep in good shape, Liu said, she jogs 2km a day.
"It's a habit I developed when I was in college," she said. "I don't have the time nor the money to go to a spa or to have a botox injection to make myself look younger. Instead, jogging, which costs me the least amount of money, is a good way to alleviate my stress."
But with her hectic schedule, Liu said she doubts she will have as much time to jog as she did before.
Although Liu has said that she was nervous about the new job, she always sports a look of confidence on her face.
"I don't deny that I'm a competent woman," she said. "Overall, I believe that I'll do a good job."
Her job will revolve around negotiations and interactions with the Legislative Yuan, the media and DPP headquarters.
"I know it's impossible for me to improve the relationship between the Cabinet and the legislature by myself, but I'll show the utmost sincerity and patience in dealing with them," she said.
When asked how Premier Yu Shyi-kun had contacted her about the new job, Liu said she only knew she was one of the many people on the selection list.
"A few days before I left for Indonesia for the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, I told the premier that it was his decision whether to hire a not-so-traditional Taiwanese women, who dares to stand up for herself," she said.
And the rest is history.
When asked to describe herself, Liu said that she is a "short and mediocre woman who has a sonorous voice and is full of energy."
The premier has praised her as a woman who "has a great sense of humor" and is "firm and capable."
DPP lawmaker and spokesman for the New Tide faction, Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), who has been a friend and colleague of Liu's for about eight years, said that Liu is both professional and smart but will need to refine her negotiating skills.
"A local government head, after all, is different from an executive officer of the central government," Chiu said.
Liu, who holds a master's degree in environmental engineering from Oklahoma University, once served as the director of the Bureau of Environmental Protection at the Taipei City Government when President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was the city mayor.
She later took up the post of deputy commissioner of Taichung County.
"When she was the deputy commissioner, the commissioner usually played the good guy while she played the bad guy," Chiu said. "But she was so in the right and self-confident that no one could find fault with her."
Chiu's advice for Liu is to try to be more perceptual than rational.
"I guess her rationality may have a lot to do with her being a woman, especially a single, independent women who occupies a high-ranking position," Chiu said.
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