A chubby, smiling woman with curly hair that resembles an Afro is the image that usually comes to mind when one mentions Democ-ratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung mayor-elect Chen Chu (陳菊).
This is largely thanks to the successful marketing of the "Mother Chu (菊媽媽)" image designed by her camp during the recent campaign.
"I tried to emphasize what people see in her appearance -- amiable and accessible, just like a next-door mom," said art designer Chung An-jung (鍾安榮), who designed magnets portraying Chen.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
The magnets, which showed a cartoon "Mother Chu" with free-flowing curly hair and dressed in 12 different ethnic and professional outfits, were a hit campaign product.
However, the cartoon caricature only touches the surface of Chen's persona.
A long-term human rights activist, Chen spent the past three decades defending minority rights in Taiwan.
Born in 1950, Chen grew up as a farmer's daughter in Sanhsing Township (
One of the major turning points in her life came when, at the age of 19, she worked as a secretary to then-Taiwan Provincial consultative councilor Kuo Yu-hsin (
From that period on, she has been an active participant in many social movements.
On Jan. 20, 1979, Shih Ming-teh (
The Kaohsiung Incident, in which a pro-democracy protest turned into violent clashes with the police, occurred the next day, and she was imprisoned for six-and-a-half years for her involvement. Despite being threatened with a possible death penalty, she remained an active advocate of human rights after she was released from prison.
She worked with the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR) after she left prison and, as a result, was invited by former German president Richard von Weizsacker to attend a 1988 rally to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the announcement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Chen won an award from the Formosan Association For Human Rights in 1989, and became secretary-general of the TAHR in 1990. She attended the Davos Summit in 1992, and was invited by the UN to participate in the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993.
During her trial for her involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident, she said: "In my belief, the majority's domination or oppression over the minority is intolerable. I dream of a fair and just society."
"Chen was born with enthusiasm for the minorities and the unwanted," DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (
Tien has been friends with Chen since she was 19.
"Her mother always said Chen was sympathetic by nature. She always regards other people's business as her own," Tien told the Taipei Times.
Even after Chen was imprisoned, Tien said she never heard Chen complain about the hardships she endured as a result of participating in social movements.
Chen served in various capacities in the government, notably as chairwoman of the Council of Labor Affairs from 2000 to last year. When the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal broke last August, which began with a riot by Thai laborers over poor working conditions at the Kaohsiung mass rapid transit construction project, Chen was heavily criticized for her handling of the tender for the construction project and attacked by members of several DPP factions. To assume responsibility for the riot, Chen resigned one month later from the council.
However, Chen bounced back into the political scene with the Kaohsiung mayoral race. Her natural enthusiasm, tolerance and perseverance, which Chen has made her trademark, were emphasized during her campaign in the DPP primary for the Kaohsiung mayoral candidacy early this year.
Her campaign team then tried to maximize these qualities during her competition against KMT candidate Huang Chun-ying (
Chen defeated Huang by a mere 1,114 votes in the election on Dec. 9.
"Chen won the mayoral election not because she was a more capable or efficient administrator than Huang," said Constitutional Reform Alliance chairman Allen Houng (
Chen's challenge over the next four years will be to "carry out urban construction in Kaohsiung, while maintaining Kaohsiung's prospects," he added.
Although Chen won the election because of "effectively arousing local consciousness" among Kaohsiung citizens, as mayor Chen should not continue highlighting conscious-ness, but focus on building the city's future, he said.
Transforming the city from an industrial center that provides northern Taiwan with products into a city of culture, Houng said, is the key to help Kaohsiung "be reborn."
"A city without rich culture is boring," he said. "With culture, Kaohsiung's citizens will be able to get rid of the vulgar stereotypes imposed on them."
Chen's relations with the Kao-hsiung City Council -- 21 out of 44 seats are occupied by the pan-blue camp -- will also be a test for her, Houng added.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
RSS