When Hsu Shih-hsien (許世賢), Taiwan's first and longest-serving female city mayor, ran for Chiayi county magistrate forty-four years ago, her opponents ridiculed the idea of a woman in office. "With a woman in the city council," they joked, "men might have to wear skirts."
Women have come a long way since then, but their advances in politics still lag far behind the improvements they have made in educational level, economic independence, and social status. Consider these official statistics: In 1950, women made up 27 percent of senior high school students and 10 percent of the college enrolment; by 1992, female students comprised 47 percent of high schoolers and 43 percent of university enrolment. In the workplace, female employees have increased from 28 percent of the work force forty years ago to 44 percent today.
The growth of the women's movement over the past two decades has given the current generation more rights, freedoms, and resources. A dozen island-wide women's associations now specialize in various aspects of women's rights, including the National Organization for Women, Taiwan; the Grassroots Women Workers' Center, which promotes the interests of women laborers; and the Awakening Foundation, which fights child prostitution and domestic violence.
But women have made few improvements in the political arena. About 35 percent of Taiwan's 572,000 civil servants are women, but the percentage tapers off dramatically as the level of power and responsibility increases. A precious few make it above the mid-ranked section chief level. Only one of the central government's nineteen Cabinet members is a woman, and there are currently no females among the eight ministers and twenty-two vice ministers.
In elected positions, only one of the island's city mayors and county magistrates is a woman (4 percent), while among township or city chiefs, six are women (2 percent). A quota system reserving at least one-tenth of all seats for women has been established for the provincial, county, and city councils. The ROC Constitution also establishes a one-tenth quota for the National Assembly and Legislative Yuan. But many women's rights advocates criticize this system forbeing used as a maximum, rather than a minimum, number of seats for women. After five decades, the quota has done little to increase the percentage of women in office. For example, there are forty-two women among the 314 national assembly members (13 percent), and seventeen among the 157 legislators now in office (11 percent).
The topic of women and politics has been highly publicized lately, as Taiwan has hosted two international conferences on women within the past year: the 1993 International Conference on Women brought 360 women's rights advocates to Taipei last December, and the 1994 Global Summit of Women attracted 400 female politicians and political activists to the city in February.
To get a firsthand look at the status and prospects of female leaders in Taiwan, Free China Review spoke with four of the island's top-ranking women in office: Dr. Chang Po-ya (張博雅), Dr. Shirley W. Y. Kuo (郭婉容), Dr. Jeanne Tchong-koei Li (李鐘桂), and Hsiu-lien Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).
For the director-general of the Department of Health, Dr.Chang Po-ya, politics runs in the family. Her mother, Hsu Shih-hsien, became the first woman city mayor when she took office in Chiayi city in 1968. After her mother passed away, Chang was elected as mayor of Chiayi, and served from 1983 to 1989. In 1990, she was elected to the Legislature and was appointed to her current position later that year.
How did you get involved in politics?
My mother was in public office for more than thirty years, so I saw a lot and felt a lot of what politics is like. While she was the mayor of Chiayi, I was a professor and director of the Public Health Department at Kaohsiung Medical College. It was my mother's wish for me to get intopolitics, so I felt I should fulfill it for her. So when I was invited to run by the people of Chiayi, I ran in the elections.
When you began your political career as mayor of Chiayi, did you face any discriminatory views about women as politicians?
In Chiayi city, there is no discrimination because my mother was mayor for such a long period. Everyone respected her. She was so capable and upright, so honest. I am very lucky. I have not faced sexual discrimination in my career.
Are other women seeking a career in politics likely to face discrimination?
Maybe. In different areas, or in different types of work, sexual discrimination does exist. If a woman wants to be involved in politics, she must have an excellent education and her behavior must be respected by the public, or people will think she is not capable.
Are female politicians judged more harshly than male politicians?
Yes, I think so. We can say we are still at the pioneering stage of getting women into politics. Even though having a high level of education is not a requirement for entering politics, a woman must be well educated and well qualified, and she must especially have an excellent moral education. If she has those qualifications, she can be a good competitor and will be trusted and respected enough to get the votes.
Do most women vote?
Many women do not vote. Most women are very indifferent to politics, especially during elections. Most think politics is men's business—they think it is very difficult, very dark. So it is still not popular for women to get into politics. But I think there will be a tendency for more women to enter politics in the future.
Do you support the quota system that reserves 10 percent of the seats for women in the NationalAssembly, Legislature, and local councils?
It was a good way to get women into politics at the beginning, but I don't think 10 percent is enough. Also, in the high positions of the government, there is no percentage to guard the number of positions for women.
Why is the number of women politicians so low?
For the reasons I mentioned earlier. Also, especially in a Chinese society, people are very conservative. They think women should concentrate on family matters. When a family problem arises, it is expected that women will serve the family.
What would it take to encourage more women to get involved in politics?
Women must have the support from their family. This is very important—it is the first step. In Taiwan, I think encouragement is the most important thing.
Changing the regulations to increase the percentage of political positions reserved for women is also important. Political parties in foreign countries already do this, such as the Green Party in Germany and the New Party in Sweden. These parties reserve half or 40 percent of their positions for women.
Another thing that will help is for women to get involved in social welfare organizations like the Lion's Club, the Rotarians, and the Red Cross. They can get some experience and move from there into politics.
Dr. Shirley W.Y. Kuo, minister without portfolio, is the only female Cabinet member. She began her political career after twenty years as a professor of economics. She served as vice chairman of the Economic Planning Council (EPC) from 1973-1977, vice chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) from 1977-1979, deputy governor of the Central Bank of China from 1979-1988, minister of finance from 1988 to 1990, and chairman of CEPD from 1990 to 1993.
When you started in your first position, what was it like to be one of the few women in a high government position?
At the time, I didn't think about it. I had started my academic work in 1952, so I was already a very senior professor. I was used to dealing with people, and gender was not an issue [at National Taiwan University]. In my first position, as vice chairman of the EPC, I had quite a few former students working with me. We were good friends. There was no problem. I was very fortunate, I think.
During your twenty-one years in politics, have you encountered any instances of sexual discrimination?
I have no personal examples of discrimination directed against me, but it does existi n this society. I can feel it, and I can see it.
In what areas of Taiwan society do you see discrimination?
Maybe the right word is dominance. This society is still dominated by men. It is obvious when you look at a typical political meeting—the whole table will be filled by men, with very few women sitting there. This may not be direct discrimination, but some form of discrimination is at work. Otherwise, out of an equally proportioned population, why are only men included?
Why are so few women in political positions in Taiwan?
This is not a problem only in Taiwan; it is the same all over the world. I can think of three basic reasons. One is the heavier biological burden of women: they must bear the children. The second is the long historical traditions and cultures worldwide. Although these have been changing, there is a way to go. Third, in the past, opportunities for education, training, and promotion were scarcer for women than for men.
In Taiwan's case, I am very hopeful that this will improve. Nowadays the whole society is modernized. The general recognition of women's abilities has advanced tremendously. This will change traditional thinking.
Also, women's education is improving. This year, I collected some statistics at the two women's conferences. One very good piece of information is that the share of female students in colleges and universities is very high. In the humanities, the percentage is 77 percent; in education it is 60 percent; in law, 45 percent; and in the social sciences, 70 percent. These areas are directly concerned with interest and ability in politics.
As for women's training and promotion,there are two categories: the government and the private sector. In the government, nowadays there are quite a few female staff members. Although there are very few in the very high-ranking positions, there are many women in the middle and upper-middle levels. These women are proving themselves.
In the private sector, success is based on free competition. In the field of economics, which I am very familiar with, you find many capable female entrepreneurs working at various professional levels. I think the future is very bright for women.
When running for office,do you think women politicians are judged more harshly than their male counterparts? Must women prove themselves to be better than their male competitors?
Yes, I think this is very true. If you behave as good as men, because of tradition, the opportunities for women to advance are not very good. Most of the time, women have to prove themselves better than men of the same rank. Then they will get noticed.
Is the 10 percent quota system helpful for women?
I often hear two different views about the quota: for and against. The reason some oppose the quota is that 10 percent is very small. Also, it was created as a floor for the number of women, but in reality it is used as a ceiling. It has not promoted women. In the early days, when we had to provide artificial opportunities for women, the quota was good. But now the status of women has been upgraded. Now women should be given opportunities not based on preferential treatment, but based on their capabilities.
In general, do you feel hopeful that more women will enter politics in the future?
Yes. The situation is particularly hopeful in Taiwan. Women's participation in the workforce is only 44 percent. But we anticipate that more and more women will come out. Many women have already proven that they can harmonize their difficult three-fold duty, to themselves, their families, and to society.
One of the best-known women politicians in Taiwan, Dr. Jeanne Tchong-koei Li was appointed as deputy secretary-general of the Kuomintang (KMT) Central Committee in August 1993, and has served as president of the China Youth Corps since 1987. From 1988 to 1993, she served as director-general of the Women's Department of the KMT Central Committee. Since 1965, she has also taught diplomacy at National Chengchi University, and political science at National Taiwan University. She was one of the organizers of the 1993 International Conference on Women, held in Taipei last December.
How difficult is it for a woman in Taiwan to enter politics?
Now I think it is getting better and better, but it is still not easy. Even though we are protected by our Constitution and the one-tenth quota, it is still very hard because the political parties must nominate their candidates, and many do not want to nominate women. That's why; even though we have more and more women who really want to be involved inpolitics, they can't depend on the political parties—they can only depend on themselves.
We think maybe the quotasystem was good in the very beginning, but now we hope to end it. The problem is that many women think if they have such a quota, they can win an election with only one vote. During the campaign, men say, "This woman candidate is protected by the Constitution. One vote is enough to get her into office—it is not necessary to give her more votes." In some cities, if there is only one women running, it was really good for her. But when there are two or more women running, they receive no benefits from the quota system. And now, there are more and more women running.
Is there a movement to change the quota system?
Yes. But changing it will depend on the political parties; they will decide yes or no. Certainly I think in the countryside, especially in the southern part of Taiwan or on the off-shore islands, people think the quota system is very important for women.But in the cities and urban counties, people think it is not so good. So they argue. We have already invited many professors of political science and other scholars to discuss the problem, but no decision has been made yet. It may take several years.
Are women a strong voting group?
Not yet. We really want to organize women to form a voting group. We must support women candidates. We must help each other.
Fifty to 60 percent of the female population do vote. From a questionnaire the KMT did on women's voting patterns, we have the following impression: in the northern part of Taiwan, more women are interested in politics, but on election day they don't want to vote. In the southern part, a lot of women say they are not really interested in politics, but on election day they all vote. Why? Because the customs are different. In the south, if someone encourages them to go, they go. And some candidates buy votes. Women tend to think, if they receive money from the candidates, they must vote. It is a custom—if they receive something, they must give something back.
In the north, women are not so cautious about offending people and they oppose vote-buying. It is a different culture. More women have a high level of education, more are single, and they are much more interested in politics. But on election day, they don't want to vote. They say, "I think this candidate is not capable or no good. I prefer to give up."
This is why we encourage women's groups to organize the women in their areas to vote and to support women candidates. We want to educate women that voting is a duty and a responsibility. You must use your right and help our democratic movement.
Are enough women getting into office?
There are only two ways to get into office: through elections or by working your way up through the civil service system. I have already mentioned elections. It is also not so easy to work your way up. We have a civil service exam, but the exam system is only used for low-level positions. The higher levels are appointed. That's why, in the mid- and high-ranking positions, there are not many women.
Does the problem lie mostly with the appointment system, or in a lack of interest among women?
I think the appointment system is not correct and not fair. But sometimes, a woman does refuse to take a position for family reasons, or because her husband doesn't want her to have a position that is higher than his. That's why when we want to promote a female colleague to a special position, we sometimes hear: "I don't want to take this because my husband does not support me." For example, if we want to send someone abroad, usually a wife follows a husband even if she has to quit her job. Rarely does a husband follow his wife. This is always a problem with promotions.
Legislator Hsiu-lien Annette Lu was Taiwan's first feminist activist. Before entering politics, she established a number of women's organizations in Taiwan, including crisis hotlines in Taipei and Kaohsiung and a feminist publishing house in Taipei. In 1991, she founded the National Organization for Women, Taiwan. She joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1989 and was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992. She now serves as co-chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. She chaired the 1994 Global Summit of Women, held in Taipei in February, which focused on "Women and Political Leadership."
Women in Taiwan have progressed economically and in the workplace. Where should the women's movement be concentrating its efforts now?
In politics. Taiwan is now in a transitional period. In the past, feminist groups believed that it was not good to bring women's issues together with political issues. Recently they have realized this was a mistake. Unless women can share the power of policy making and the power of allocating national resources, the principles of feminism will only be talk; they will not be adopted into policies and legislation. Implementing the concepts of feminism requires a lot of resources. Unless you can share in the process of allocating national resources, how can you implement these concepts? So it is time to encourage women to gain political power.
Does the quota system outlined in the ROC Constitution help or hinder women in politics?
The quota system was initiated to promote women in politics. It was meant to set the minimum number of seats for women, but it in fact sets the maximum number of seats for women. Because the power to nominate candidates has traditionally been controlled by men within the parties, instead of nominating more than the minimum number of woman, they usually nominate the minimum number. So women interested in running end up competing against each other for the few reserved positions. And once the ruling party (Kuomintang) nominates a woman, the [main] opposition party (DPP) has to nominate one simply to beat that other woman.
In other words, the quota system has become a trap preventing more women from running for office. We haveto change the system. But to completely abolish the quota system would also leave women in a very difficult situation because there are so many traditional obstacles. My proposal is to apply "progressive affirmative action" where you start with 10 or 15 percent as the quota, then increase it by increments of 5 percent for each election until the number of women candidates is not less than 40 percent but not more than 60 percent. This would take twenty or thirty years—better than never.
Do most women in Taiwan vote?
Many women vote, but unfortunately many women vote for money. It is very easy to bribe women voters. There are many reasons for this. Number one, women are not that interested in politics—many don't really care who is elected. Number two, because women manage the household, they appreciate receiving money more than men do. The third factor is, if women are paid to vote, they vote. Whatever reason, it's a pity and it goes against democracy, so we need to educate women.
Another problem is that traditionally campaign rallies are held in the evening, when women are busy with housekeeping. While their husbands go out to listen to the speeches, women are kept home washing the dishes. They don't develop a favorite candidate to support.
What are your main goals for women's issues during your term as legislator?
There are many feminist groups now, and they each have different functions. I try to help them if I'm asked to, either to help pass a bill or to put pressure on the government on a certain issue. In addition, I founded the National Organization for Women, Taiwan, three years ago. Our main goals are to promote women's economic and political status.
We are now undertaking a project to fight sexual harassment. We have published some booklets, and we are going to hold a series of panel discussions and workshops. In the past, women just kept quiet about sexual harassment. But now it is becoming publicized. If women stop being afraid of facing the problem, and if they learn how to address it, sexual harassment will decrease. In the past, we focused on fighting rape, but rape happens less frequently than sexual harassment.
We also have held several workshops on women and careers. Some of our members are lawyers. They are discussing introducing an equal pay bill. Right now, on average, women receive about 75 percent of the pay that men receive for similar positions.
We are also very concerned about how to educate women to get into politics, and how to promote women's interest in politics. For instance, if we find some good women candidates, members of the National Organization for Women will support them during elections.
What will it take to encourage more women to enter politics?
The fundamental problem is the concept that politics is a man's job, that it is a taboo for women to enter politics. There is a Chinese saying that "putting a woman in politics is like having a hen crow at dawn." The second problem is the political background—for people who lived through thirty-nine years of martial law , it was long taboo for most people to enter politics. And third is the quota system. It was begun with the intention of getting women into politics. But it has been twisted from the minimum number of seats to the maximum number.