Council of Hakka Affairs Chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan's (葉菊蘭) being tapped to become vice premier in President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) reshuffled Cabinet shows Chen's determination to improve gender equality in the government and his appreciation of Yeh's contributions.
The administration has said it hopes to have nine female high-ranking officials in the reshuffled Cabinet. So far five have been confirmed.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"President Chen has always said that he places great importance on gender equality in the government, and the future and current Cabinets show this," said Lee Yung-chih (
Lee said Yeh's experience as a legislator, head of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and chairwoman of the Council of Hakka Affairs is proof of her competency.
The 55-year-old Yeh has long been favored by the media and by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters to rise through the ranks because of her successful management of the Council of Hakka Affairs and her status as a senior female politician within the DPP.
At the beginning of Chen's presidential campaign, many thought Yeh might replace Annette Lu (
Yeh joined the Cabinet in 2000 with her appointment as minister of transportation and communications. During her time at the MOTC, Yeh oversaw the privatization of Chunghwa Telecom and nearly resigned over the mishandling of a large oil spill in Kenting in 2001.
In 2002, Yeh was made chairwoman of the newly established Council of Hakka Affairs.
"The council had only been created for about two years when Yeh was given the leadership job. Under the first chairman, Fan Kuang-chun (
"For Yeh to be appointed to the council after being at the helm of the MOTC, which had an annual budget of over NT$400 billion, it was like going into an empty wasteland," said Yang, who has been working under Yeh since 1990.
However, Yang added, Yeh's Hakka heritage and experience in advertising stood her in good stead, helping her create the current vision of the council.
As chairwoman of the Council of Hakka Affairs, Yeh has received acclaim for popularizing Hakka culture by focusing on Hakka language and cultural revival. Under her leadership, the council established "Hakka cultural parks" and sponsored the creation of a 24-hour Hakka-language cable television station.
Council ventures, such as the annual Hakka Tung Blossom Festival and the 2002 Hakka Cultural and Art Festival, have been major vehicles of business, with the council estimating that last year's Tung Blossom Festival generated about NT$500 million in revenue.
DPP Legislator Hung Chi-chang (
"We need to remember that the policies of the Hakka council were also a result of Chen's promises to the Hakka people from early on," said Hung, referring to examples such as Hakka language revival strategies made as one of Chen's 2000 presidential campaign promises.
Personality-wise, Lee highlighted Yeh's reconciliation abilities as a key reason for her being chosen to become vice premier.
"I've known Yeh for a long time, and I can say that she has a lot of determination and is very good at reconciliation," Lee said. "She can communicate with all sorts of people and settle conflicts between various governmental departments; and this will be important when she becomes vice premier."
Lee expressed cautious enthusiasm about Yeh's future, saying it all depends on Yeh's performance as vice premier.
If she performs well, Lee said, she stands a chance of becoming a vice presidential or even presidential candidate.
Such accolades from the DPP are proof of Yeh's graduation from her image as a victimized widow to political heavyweight.
Yeh entered politics when her husband, Deng Nan-jung (
Deng, then editor in chief of the Freedom Era Weekly (
Yeh, then a widow with a young daughter, left her 17-year career in advertising to enter politics and continue her husband's legacy. She served as a DPP legislator for four terms, from 1990 to 2000.
As a legislator, Yeh quickly won recognition and became deputy and then general convener of the DPP caucus in 1992 and 1995. In 1996, Yeh acted as the manager of Peng Ming-min's (
Yeh was also Chen's Hakka Affairs Committee chairwoman during his 2000 presidential campaign, when she helped shore up the Hakka vote.
As a legislator, Yeh played up her grieving widow image, often publishing articles about the difficulties of raising her daughter. Yeh also often told the media, however, that she wanted to be recognized as "Yeh Chu-lan," not just as Deng's wife.
And indeed, Hung said, she has succeeded.
"Although she may have relied on her husband's reputation to enter politics, after so many years, she's more than proved herself with her varied experiences as a legislator, minister of transportation and Hakka council chairwoman," Hung said. "We should look at her for her individual accomplishments. It would be unfair to continue thinking of her as the `national mother.'"
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