President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen gave a speech at the graduation ceremony and conferred diplomas to 45 graduates including lawyers, medical doctors, government officials, lawmakers and business executives.
"I hope our woman elite who graduate from the Ketagalan Institute will become pioneers of democracy in Taiwan," Chen said. "I hope they continue to make contributions to Taiwan's society in all aspects of life, especially in public affairs."
Chen said that the level of a country's gender equality is an indicator of how developed a country is.
He pointed out that women were asked to take care of families and were discouraged from getting involved in public affairs in a male-dominated society without knowing it, and women were thus deprived of the opportunity to strive for their rights.
"This was why I promoted many women to serve in the Taipei City Government in my term as mayor," Chen said. He stressed that once given a fair chance and an equal footing, women can perform as well as men.
The vice principal of the Ketagalan Institute You Ying-lung (
Lu Ming-tu (
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