Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday highlighted the importance of women's empowerment at the opening of an international women's summit in Taipei and touted former Vice President Annette Lu as an "indispensable driving force" in Taiwan's democracy.
"Since Taiwan lifted martial law 30 years ago, the collective efforts of the Taiwanese people have helped ensure women's rights and increased their political participation," Tsai said at the opening of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) Women's Caucus Conference, which is being held for the first time in Taiwan.
"Taiwan's journey toward women's empowerment shows that promoting gender equality reinforces democratic and progressive values," she said at the summit, jointly organized this year by Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and CALD.
The president thanked the people who attended the conference, especially Lu, for their "unshakeable commitment" to the promotion of equal rights for women.
"You are an indispensable driving force in Taiwan's democratization," Tsai said of the former vice president, who is a renowned feminist and former political prisoner.
During her speech, Tsai also highlighted Taiwan's efforts in achieving gender equality, such as passing law amendments requiring companies to provide childcare and nursing facilities, and taking steps to establish better long-term care systems to reduce the burden of care on women.
In addition, Tsai noted, Taiwan and the United States announced the establishment of a women and the economy sub-fund during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' summit last year.
This year's conference, themed "Women Empowering Women: Experiences Across Asia," will touch on topics such as gender awareness and violence in Asia, women's empowerment in the media, civil society, business and government, as well as the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
Established in Bangkok in 1993, CALD is a regional organization whose members include liberal and democratic political parties across Asia, including Taiwan's DPP, Thailand's Democrat Party, the Philippines Liberal Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.
