Women’s rights groups blasted municipal and county governments yesterday, saying that women continue to be seriously underrepresented among high-ranking officials in local administrations following the Nov. 29 elections.
According to information compiled by the Awakening Foundation, women account for less than one-quarter of high-ranking officials in most recently sworn-in local administrations around the nation, with the national average “overwhelmingly low” at 19 percent.
The foundation tallied newly sworn-in officials appointed as deputy mayors, secretary-generals, deputy secretary-generals, as well as the directors of various municipal departments in local administrations.
Photo: CNA
“Although many people say that the recent elections ‘turned around’ Taiwanese politics, in terms of gender, we can see that nothing much has changed,” Awakening Foundation secretary-general Lin Hsiu-yi (林秀怡) said.
Lin said that women’s rights groups have long demanded that members of either sex should account for at least one-third of high-ranking officials in local government.
“Local governments should be capable of empathizing with issues encountered in the daily lives of the public, as they directly come in contact with the people,” Lin said.
Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) drew criticism because only two out of a total of 30 of high-ranking officials he appointed are women, making Greater Taichung the second-most lopsided local administration in the nation in terms of gender composition.
The Kinmen County Government also came under fire, as its panel of high-ranking officials consisted entirely of men.
Women were best represented among top officials in Pingtung County, Hsinchu City and Hualien County, at 41 percent, 32 percent and 28 percent respectively.
Newly elected mayors and commissioners from the rest of the nation appointed fewer women in their Cabinets, with the numbers for Taipei, Greater Taoyuan and Greater Kaohsiung hovering at about 25 percent, while other places exhibited lower numbers.
“It’s important to have different gender subjectivities to bring different perspectives into local government,” Awakening Foundation chairperson Chen Yi-chien (陳宜倩) said, adding that all officials in local governments should be educated on gender awareness, regardless of their gender.
The activists said that rather than indicating the absence of talented women across various professions, the low percentage is a result of less importance being placed on the achievements of women.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS