President Ma Ying-jeou said June 26 that tremendous progress has been achieved in promoting gender equality in Taiwan, with the government continuing to enhance women’s rights on all fronts.
“Taiwan is a leader in Asia when it comes to ensuring equality for females,” Ma said.
“Evidence of this healthy state of affairs is the nation’s fifth-place global ranking based on the criteria of the 2013 Gender Inequality Index by U.N. Development Program.”
Ma made the remarks while receiving Wilhelm Hofmeister, director of Regional Program Political Dialogue with Asia, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Singapore, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.
Hofmeister was in country as the head of a delegation comprising female lawmakers from 12 Asian countries participating in the Asian Women Parliamentarian Conference organized by Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and German-headquartered KAS June 24-26 in Taipei.
According to Ma, political participation of women in Taiwan is also on the rise. “The current makeup of the ROC Legislature and armed forces is 35 percent and 10 percent women, respectively,” he said.
“The outperformances of females in the public sector, especially in the armed forces, show that women in Taiwan are no longer confined to the traditional role of homemaking, but important contributors to national security.”
As the first republic in Asia, the ROC is devoted to safeguarding the basic rights of its people, the president said. “Government efforts in upholding the universal values have gained great recognition as reflected in the country’s top-flight results in various global rankings.”
Taiwan was rated one for political rights and two for civil liberties in the latest report released by Washington-based Freedom House. On a scale of one to seven, one is the freest and seven the least free in the annual study comprising 195 countries and territories.
“Looking ahead, we will continue making solid progress on creating a level playing field between the sexes and transforming Taiwan into an even friendlier society for women,” Ma said. (SFC-JSM)
