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Annette Lu
On December 10, 1999, Ms. Lu was invited to serve as running mate by Chen Shui-bian, the presidential candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party. On March 18, 2000, Lu was elected as the first female vice-president of the Republic of China, winning nearly 5 million votes.

Enraged by remarks she made in a television interview in Hong Kong, Beijing blasted the 55-year-old lawyer as a "lunatic" and the "scum of the nation" for risking war by leading Taiwan toward independence. Immediately before her inauguration (2000), Lu,  also came under fire by some of her own Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)  colleagues for her inability to hold her tongue--after she publicly complained about not being consulted on cabinet appointments.

In the 1970s, Lu opened a coffee shop for women in Taipei, a gathering place for advocates of the Taiwanese feminist movement that she founded. In 1979, she gave a provocative speech demanding democracy in Taiwan. She was charged with sedition, a capital crime, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. She wrote two novels on toilet paper before she was paroled five years later for health reasons. In 1992, when the DPP became a legitimate political party, she won a seat in Taiwan’s legislature.

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Jenny Ma
On 25 July 2002, former Taiwanese Senator Jenny was sworn in as the first woman president of the Council for Industrial and Commercial Development (CICD of Taiwan. CICD is one of the largest four national business associations in Taiwan and has 1,000 active members. The gross income of the companies belonging to CICD members represents 45% of Taiwan's GDP.

She was elected Senator in Taiwan's National Assembly in 1991. Prior to her involvement into politics Ms. Ma is one of her country's leading entrepreneurs. In 1980, she was chosen as one of 10 outstanding women in Taiwan. The following year, she was selected as one of the 10 outstanding women entrepreneurs.

At the National Assembly, she was chosen as deputy secretary for the Kuo Min Tang (KMT) caucus. After her term ended in 1995 she chose not to run for re-election.

Although out of public office, she is still politically active especially in pushing for women's active participation in politics. In 1997, she established the Chinese Women in Politics Institute, which sponsored the Fourth Asia Pacific Congress of Women in Politics on the same year.

Jenny Ma is also involved as member of the Board of Trustees of the Manila-based Center for Asia Pacific Women in Politics (CAPWIP).


Annette Lu
Jenny Ma