Mary Chen

Mary Chen or Chen Man-li (Chinese: 陳曼麗; born 5 February 1955) is a Taiwanese environmentalist and politician. A longtime leader of the Homemakers' Union and Foundation and the National Union of Taiwan Women’s Associations, she was an active member of Green Party Taiwan before joining the Democratic Progressive Party in 2015. She represented the DPP in the 2016 legislative elections, and won a seat via party list proportional representation.

Mary Chen
Chen Man-li

MLY
陳曼麗
Chen in 2016
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2016 – 31 January 2020
ConstituencyRepublic of China
Personal details
Born (1955-02-05) 5 February 1955
Taipei, Taiwan
NationalityTaiwanese
Political partyDemocratic Progressive Party (since 2015)
Other political
affiliations		Green Party Taiwan (until 2015)
Alma materSan Diego State University
Occupationpolitician

Education

Chen earned a master's in business administration from San Diego State University in the United States.[1]

Political stances and activism

In a 2001 open letter co-written with nine others, Chen rejected the One China principle and advocated Taiwanese independence.[2] In the early 2000s, she was the leader of the Homemakers' Union and Foundation.[3] From this position, Chen advocated for a centralized collection effort regarding organic kitchen waste.[4] She also denounced the Chinese fur trade.[5] She has called upon governmental and private efforts to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions.[6] By 2009, Chen had stepped down as chair of the Homemaker Union and Foundation,[7] but later resumed the post and remained on its board of directors.[8][9] She has described nuclear power as "something that can cause immense destruction when something goes wrong" in spite of increasing public support for the technology due to climate change.[10] Chen advocated that construction of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant be stopped,[11] and plans were eventually put on hold in 2014.

Chen believes that the use of ractopamine and other additives is questionable and not fully endorsed by scientific research,[12][13] and that US beef imports to Taiwan found to include ractopamine should not be accepted.[14][15] She is active in raising awareness for other food safety concerns,[16][17] among them nitrate and radiation contamination.[18][19][20] Chen has warned against cigarette consumption on public health and environmental grounds.[21][22] She opposed the reclassification of scrap metal as non-hazardous material proposed in 2013, citing a health scare similar to food scandal that received widespread attention that year.[23]

Chen has also led the National Union of Taiwan Women’s Associations.[24] In this capacity, Chen opposed the appropriation of public land for government-sanctioned private and business use.[25] In 2009, she led a protest against legislator Tsai Chin-lung, who charged public oversight organization Citizen Congress Watch with slander over an unfavorable ranking of him.[26] Chen also participated in a campaign to bar the construction of a casino on Penghu later that year.[27] A referendum was held in September to consider its establishment, but it failed.[28][29]

As a legislator, Chen has been frequently critical of Taipower, Taiwan's state-owned electric utility.[30][31] In addition to Taipower, Formosa Petrochemical and Formosa Plastics Group have also drawn her attention for subpar environmental protection efforts.[32][33] Chen has pushed for the government to revise standards and clearly differentiate between types of industrial waste.[34][35] With regards to animal rights, Chen supports a ban on the use of steel traps and backs government attempts to cut down on animal euthanasia.[36][37]

Career

Green Party Taiwan supported Chen's 2006 campaign for a seat on Taipei City Council.[38] She later became a party convenor.[39] Chen received Green Party Taiwan support for a legislative run in Taipei County 9th district during the 2008 election.[40] In 2015, Chen was named to the Democratic Progressive Party proportional representation party list ballot and subsequently elected to the Legislative Yuan.[41][42] In 2016, Penghu County considered a second referendum on casinos, which Chen also opposed.[43][44] Like the first vote, the second referendum did not pass.[45][46] She supported an amendment to the Act of Gender Equality in Employment proposed in May, which aimed to lengthen maternity leave for partners of unmarried women.[47] Chen also backed calls to establish a government ministry leading marine conservation efforts.[48][49]

Chen sat on a total of four committees, including the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, the Procedure Committee, the Expenditure Examination Committee, and the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.[50]

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References
  1. "Chen Man-li". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  2. "An open letter to the people of Taiwan". Taipei Times. 18 August 2001. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  3. Chiu, Yu-Tzu (23 April 2001). "Earth Day brings out the green army". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  4. Lim, Peggy (19 April 2003). "Turning waste into gold". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  5. Chiu, Yu-Tzu (3 February 2003). "Activists urge fur boycott". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  6. Chiu, Yu-Tzu (3 November 2004). "More effort urged on curbing emissions". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  7. Lu, Meggie (16 April 2009). "Environmentalists push for green energy action". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  8. Chang, Rich (22 May 2010). "Civic group accuses investigators of harassment". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  9. Loa, Iok-sin (15 November 2014). "2014 ELECTIONS: Ko unveils panel to pick city environmental chief". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  10. Loa, Iok-sin (30 August 2010). "Protestors throng nuclear plant". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  11. Lee, I-chia (23 April 2013). "Ma promises response to environmental NGO's call". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  12. Lee, I-chia (2 April 2012). "Rally held to protest beef policy". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  13. "US BEEF CONTROVERSY: Sixteen civic groups rally in Taipei against US beef". Taipei Times. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  14. Shih, Hsiu-chuan (22 February 2012). "Expert questions transparency of US beef meetings". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  15. "Anti-beef activists rally outside AIT to protest US' attitude". Taipei Times. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  16. Hsiao, Alison (19 June 2013). "State, public, firms must ensure food safety: groups". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  17. Hsiao, Alison (16 November 2013). "FDA criticized over metals scare". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  18. Lee, I-chia (19 September 2012). "Nitrate poisoning case prompts calls for new test". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  19. Lee, I-chia (8 December 2012). "Women's group expresses fears over food radiation". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  20. Lee, I-chia (7 September 2013). "Group urges checks on imported food". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  21. Hsiao, Alison (27 May 2013). "Anti-smoking groups urge government to outlaw tobacco ads". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  22. Hsiao, Alison (12 March 2013). "Quit smoking to cut carbon emissions: group". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  23. Lee, I-chia (30 October 2013). "Activists worried changes could ease scrap metal imports". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  24. Lin, Jean (1 December 2005). "Peng Wan-ru's murder remembered by activists". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  25. Lin, Jackie (28 July 2006). "Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development: State-owned land raises ire at finance panel's meeting". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  26. Loa, Iok-sin (5 February 2009). "Civic groups hold protest over lawsuit against CCW". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  27. Gerber, Abraham (7 October 2016). "Casino development bad for environment: opponents". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  28. Shih, Hsiu-Chuan (29 September 2009). "ANALYSIS: Analysts say referendum highlights problems". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  29. Loa, Iok-sin (27 September 2009). "Residents of Penghu reject casino resort plan". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  30. Chen, Wei-han (29 February 2016). "Taipower panned over nuclear waste storage". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  31. Lee, I-chia (13 March 2016). "Protesters rally against nuclear power". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  32. Gerber, Abraham (13 October 2016). "Conflicting reports raise plant pollution concerns". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  33. Cheng, Hung-ta; Chung, Jake (7 December 2016). "Vietnamese priest complains about FPG unit". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  34. Chen, Wei-han (12 April 2016). "EPA accused of sloppy handling of industrial waste". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  35. Chen, Wei-han (15 March 2016). "Discovery of untreated slag leads to suspension". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  36. Lin, Chia-nan (16 May 2017). "Animal rights group urges amendment to prohibit steel snares". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  37. Hsiao, Alison (2 April 2016). "Groups cautious over animal law". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  38. Shan, Shelley (6 November 2006). "Green Party Taiwan calls for support". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  39. Ko, Shu-ling (1 January 2008). "Coalition pushes for transparency". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  40. Lu, Meggie (6 November 2007). "Green Party Taiwan names five candidates". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  41. Loa, Iok-sin (12 November 2015). "List of candidates demonstrates DPP ready to lead: Wu". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  42. Chen, Wei-han (5 January 2016). "Activists, writers urge sustainability". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  43. Hsiao, Alison (19 October 2016). "Penghu can be 'green' island chain: premier". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  44. Gerber, Abraham (14 October 2016). "Penghu referendum ballot misleading: critics". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  45. "Emphatic 'no' in Penghu casino vote". The China Post. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  46. Hetherington, William (16 October 2016). "Penghu says no to casinos for second time". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  47. Hsu, Stacy (9 May 2016). "DPP proposes amendments to gender equality act". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  48. Chen, Wei-han (8 June 2016). "Groups want ocean affairs ministry". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  49. Yang, Chun-hui; Chin, Jonathan (8 June 2017). "Lawmakers push for maritime ministry". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  50. "Chen, Man-Li". Legislative Yuan, Republic of China (Taiwan).
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