From her start as a political activist overseas, to taking up the role of a National Assembly delegate, to becoming the executive director of Taipei City's Commission for Examining Petitions and Appeals (CEPA, 訴願審議委員會), to being a member of the watchdog Control Yuan, some would say Chang Fu-mei (張富美) has perfected every single role she plays.
President-elect Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) selection of Chang to be the new chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission (OCAC,僑委會) is just the latest in a string of illustrious achievements.
Long before her return to Taiwan in 1992, Chang Fu-mei was well known for her enthusiastic promotion of Taiwan's democratization abroad and also for her support of so-called "political dissidents" by means of her well-established association with the American government.
In addition, she has proven her proficiency as an executive official with her laudable accomplishments during her term as the executive director of the Taipei CEPA from 1992 to 1996.
Despite having resided in the US for more than thirty years, Chang says her feelings for her homeland never diminished.
Chang's interest in politics was not inherited. Born to a conventional Taiwanese family during the period when "white terror" prevailed, Chang was raised to believe that political involvement was unsuitable for a woman.
However, Chang's awareness of and interest in the issues of democracy and liberty emerged during the years as an academic.
She was engaged in academic research in various prestigious institutions in America while studying for her PhD degree.
Her studies immersed her in the Occidental legal system and Roman Law and enabled her to fully appreciate the merits of democracy.
The 1979 Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件) was a turning point for Chang.
Having witnessed many of her close friends being defamed and incarcerated after the incident, Chang searched out all possible avenues in the American government and a slew of academic institutions in an attempt to save the so-called "rebels."
Though her involvement in the affair put her on the government's blacklist -- which deprived her of the right to return home -- she said nothing could stop her from devoting herself to political reform in Taiwan.
"I just thought it was the right time to do the right thing. Once I plunged into the circle, there seemed to be no return." said Chang.
When asked if she felt any regret over having been embroiled in politics for so long, and now, with her new appointment, being forced to be separated from her family in the US, her reply is pragmatic.
"It is probably true that life would be much easier if I remained a mother, a wife and a university professor. But I find no time to look back to think what would happen otherwise ? It is such a critical moment in Taiwan now that the first peaceful transfer of power is going to take place. I feel honored to be needed by my country."
Apparently realizing the arduous task ahead of her, Chang shows her trademark confidence and perseverance.
"As long as I undertake my task with justice and reason, I am sure the OCAC will have a whole new image in the near future," Chang said.
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Taiwan must capitalize on the shock waves DeepSeek has sent through US markets to show it is a tech partner of Washington, a researcher said China’s reported breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) would prompt the US to seek a stronger alliance with Taiwan and Japan to secure its technological superiority, a Taiwanese researcher said yesterday. The launch of low-cost AI model DeepSeek (深度求索) on Monday sent US tech stocks tumbling, with chipmaker Nvidia Corp losing 16 percent of its value and the NASDAQ falling 612.46 points, or 3.07 percent, to close at 19,341.84 points. On the same day, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector index dropped 488.7 points, or 9.15 percent, to close at 4,853.24 points. The launch of the Chinese chatbot proves that a competitor can
RSS