Special envoy to APEC James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday reaffirmed Taiwan’s commitment to gender equality at the regional meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, citing the nation’s election of a female president as proof.
Soong, who is the People First Party (PFP) chairman, made the remarks at a breakfast meeting marking the founding of the APEC Women and the Economy Sub-Fund, which was also attended by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon and Australian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Karen Lanyon.
Soong was the first to give a speech at the event, APEC Councilor and PFP Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said, adding that the US deferred to Taiwan by letting Soong speak first.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei APEC delegation
Taiwan has consistently championed equality for women in education, law and other opportunities, and is one of the first nations in Asia and the world to elect a woman as the head of state, Lee quoted Soong as saying.
Prominent women in Taiwan’s politics and business also attended the event, Lee said.
One of them was Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who talked about the nation’s promotion of gender equality in politics, including the allotment of 50 percent of legislators at-large seats for women, National Security Council adviser Lin Liang-jung (林良蓉) said.
The government’s active promotion of equality, education and opportunities has facilitated the rise of female leaders in all sectors of society, Lin quoted Hsiao as saying.
Twenty years ago, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was one of the nation’s delegates to APEC, Hsiao said.
Hsiao acknowledged the contribution made to the nation’s economy by female immigrants from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations, Lin said.
Hsiao said the government is working hard to give migrant workers, immigrants and foreign spouses the language, vocational and professional training they need to adapt and prosper, Lin added.
Many immigrant women have become successful entrepreneurs and professionals, such as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Li-chan (林麗嬋), who hailed from Cambodia, Hsiao was quoted as saying.
After the meeting, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Matthews thanked Taiwan’s female delegates for supporting the event by their presence, Lin said.
US officials told the Taiwanese delegates that the creation of the sub-fund proved that Taiwan, the US and Australia share common values, Lee said.
Taiwan and the US each contributed US$500,000 to the sub-fund, while Australia gave A$1 million (US$765,595), sources said.
Soong and Matthews exchanged views about North Korea and trade issues in a 30-minute bilateral dialogue on Wednesday afternoon, they said.
Taiwan’s willingness to abide by UN economic sanctions against Pyongyang over the latter’s nuclear program, although it is not a UN member shows that the nation is a firm US ally, Soong was quoted as saying.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS