Minister of Overseas Chinese Affairs Chang Fu-mei

"Her thin body radiates a potent force. She's a mother, but even more so she is a woman warrior helping people fight for justice wherever she's needed." So says a media description of Chang Fu-mei, the new Minister of Overseas Chinese Affairs.

In her previous work as a member of the Control Yuan, Chang Fu-mei's rapid handling of the Chung Hsing Bills scandal and the use of disciplinary action against the September 21 Earthquake Relief Team for failure to perform adequately demonstrated her resolute style. However, apart from the big cases that rocked society, she worked on over 70 cases during her 16 months at the Control Yuan, and she is particularly proud of having helped "get the monkey off the backs" of those minor characters in society whose lives were seriously interfered with by government red tape.

Perhaps out of a woman's unique empathy for the disadvantaged, Chang Fu-mei is particularly concerned with issues that ordinarily seem inconsequential to politicians and the media. When a female postal worker complained of discriminatory testing, and a young man suffered constant harassment by tax authorities after his ID card was used for someone else's tax file, Chang took their cases to administrative authorities for the fair treatment they deserved. In her view, such efforts represent her most worthy accomplishments.

What hot springs?

Chang Fu-mei is particularly concerned for disadvantaged groups and individuals, yet she herself comes from a well-to-do background. A member of a family which includes several physicians, she has always made easy work of studies and career. The first student from Chiayi Girl's High School to obtain guaranteed admission to National Taiwan University, she holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree from Harvard University. As class leader from an early age, public speaking always came naturally for her, yet she found that many female compatriots shake like leaves or shy away from speaking their minds when they get up to speak. Eleven years ago, when Chang established the North American Association of Taiwanese Women together with vice president Annette Lu, then pursuing advanced studies at Harvard, she insisted that a new chairperson be elected each year to train more women in public speaking. She has also encouraged many homemakers with skills to get out of the house and show concern for society.

After leaving Taiwan to study abroad in 1960, Chang Fu-mei resided in the United States for 30 years. Well adjusted to US society, and married to a man with a successful career in the United States, Chang could have breezed right along in America. However, convinced that Taiwan needed to break free of single-party domination, in the 1980s she and husband Chen Wen-hsiung began offering assistance to members of Taiwan's dangwai, including Kang Ning-hsiang, Yao Chia-wen, and Annette Lu. For this she ended up on the Black List herself, where she remained until 1990.

Finally allowed to return home, she was invited back to Taiwan to take part in the 1990 National Affairs Conference. Two years later, in 1992, she was nominated by the DPP as an overseas member of the National Assembly. Since then, her diligent personality has helped gain her spots in two of Chen Shui-bian's governments, the first under the "little cabinet" during his term as Taipei mayor, and the second under his national cabinet as ROC president. As a seven-year member of the National Assembly, not only did she have a perfect attendance record, but she never even stopped for a dip in the hot springs just down the mountainside from the National Assembly's Yangmingshan headquarters, causing one male delegate to exclaim, "She's so serious! Too serious!"

Many problems, many solutions

Chang Fu-mei is a solution-oriented person. Enlisted by then Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian to chair the Commission for Examining Petitions and Appeals, Chang accepted the position. But she discovered that the committee members were mostly City Hall deputies, which made it difficult for Taipei citizens to believe they could get a fair shake from government officials policing themselves. She requested that the entire committee be selected anew to include lawyers and other professionals from the private sector.

From the Taipei city government's grievance committee to the Control Yuan, Chang honed her administrative skills while enhancing her familiarity with Taiwan's grassroots society. "Now, jumping into an administrative agency such as the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission requires interaction with legislative organs and various rungs of society. The position presents new challenges for me." Clearly, she knows what's in store.

Not long after accepting the position of OCAC minister, her statement in a newspaper interview that the focus of overseas Chinese affairs work would distinguish between "old overseas residents" and "new overseas residents" suddenly thrust her into the spotlight. Explaining, she says that she has absolutely no intention of excluding one group or another, but that she hopes that overseas Chinese affairs resources can be allotted in the most appropriate fashion and employed efficiently. For example, new emigrants need particular assistance with issues such as mandatory military service for males and education of Taiwanese children abroad.

Gathering immigration data

Chang relates that at present there are few areas of friction in overseas Chinese affairs work, but that improvements can definitely be made, such as consideration of whether simplified Chinese characters should be used in tandem with traditional (complex) characters in teaching materials. However, she points out that overseas Chinese affairs have long suffered from a lack of means by which to measure performance; a measurement system for the performance of overseas Chinese cultural and educational centers or personnel affiliated with overseas representative offices, as well as an accounting system, should be established.

In addition, Taiwan still does not have an Immigration Administration, and in the future the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission will gather immigration data to help the immigrant population make the best choices and proper preparations. Other tasks that have occupied her thoughts before taking up her new post include establishing a reliable overseas citizens' registration system, tracking the progress of outgoing emigrants, handling issues connected to Taiwanese children getting their education overseas, and absentee voting.

To be sure, we are bound to see a characteristically busy figure rushing about the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, working hard to resolve the challenges thrust upon her by Chinese from every corner of the world.