Taiwan Gender Equality Education Association panned the Ministry of Education (MOE) over its definition of “new good woman (新好女人)” in the ministry’s online dictionary, saying the definition was “neither new nor good.”
According to the ministry’s official online dictionary, a “new good woman” is a woman who “focuses her life on the family, admires her husband, takes good care of her children and tries her best to maintain happiness and harmony in marriage.”
“I don’t see anything ‘new’ or ‘good’ about the MOE’s definition,” association secretary-general Lai Yu-mei (賴友梅) told the Taipei Times by telephone. “Rather, it’s a very traditional, stereotypical, old and discriminatory definition of the role of women.”
The definition, she said, is discriminatory not only against married women, but also against those who are not married, lesbians or those without children.
The ministry definition triggered an uproar among Internet users when the association posted it on its Facebook page.
“I was so shocked that I almost spat out my coffee this morning when I saw it,” Facebook user HP Liang said on her Facebook page.
“It doesn’t make any sense at all,” Facebook member Naomie Huang said.
National Languages Committee executive secretary Chen Hsueh-yu (陳雪玉) said the ministry would make changes to its online dictionary.
“The definition of ‘new good woman’ has been on our page for nearly 20 years. When we look at it today, it is certainly no longer appropriate,” Chen Hsueh-yu said. “We will ask the editorial committee to look into it and make changes accordingly within one or two weeks.”
“Whether it’s a married woman, a single woman or a woman without children, everyone can be a ‘new good woman,’” she said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
RSS