President-elect Ma Ying-jeou's (
The incoming first lady, who is a legal department director at the government-controlled bank, defended her right to work, saying that her work -- providing legal advice to the bank -- did not involve bank management.
"My work does not include banking management, the company's operations or decision-making," Chow said in a written statement.
"I don't need to face customers and it's impossible for me be involved in transfer of benefits," she said.
resignation
To prevent conflict of interest, however, Chow said she had resigned as board member of the bank and of the Dwen An Social Welfare Foundation, a charity group established by Ma.
Chow made the announcement yesterday amid debate over whether she should continue working after her husband's inauguration on May 20.
When asked to comment on the issue, Ma said at his post-election press conference on Saturday that he would respect Chow's decision.
Chow has shunned the spotlight and insisted on going about her normal life ever since Ma entered politics.
She seldom accompanies Ma to public events and only campaigned for him during the final days of election campaigns.
On Monday, Chow went to work as normal, by bus.
"Please don't call me the president's wife. I am department head Chow," she told reporters who followed her to work.
Although Chow insists on keeping her job, she said she would not take public transportation again and apologized to other passengers as reporters and photographers packed the bus she took on Monday and again yesterday.
If her work adversely affects the bank's reputation or its operations, or if her workload poses a negative impact on her duties as the first lady, Chow said she would consider leaving the bank in the future.
first lady's office?
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lien-fu (江連福) said yesterday he would propose amending the Office of the President Organization Act (總統府組織法) to establish an office of the first lady, modeled after the role of the first lady in the US.
Chiang issued a press release yesterday afternoon saying he would propose setting up an office and hiring staffers to help future first ladies deal with public welfare and social issues.
Chiang said that since the 1960s, US first ladies have had their own office in the East Wing of the White House, adding that they can hold press conferences or arrange interviews with the media through the office.
However, Taiwanese law does not have similar regulations concerning the responsibilities of the first lady, Chiang said, adding that he had started seeking endorsement for his proposal.
Chiang represents Taichung County's third district. He was reelected on Jan. 12, but was indicted on Jan. 29 on charges of vote-buying. His case is pending in the Taichung District Court.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS