Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Women's rights activists said Friday that the mainstream values of gender equality should be enshrined in a new, or largely amended, constitution.
Representatives from various women's rights groups, including Lee Yuan-chen, a national policy adviser, Wu Chia-li, an Examination Yuan member, and Huang Chang-ling, chairwoman of the Awakening Foundation, made the pitch during a meeting with Su Tseng-chang, President Chen Shui-bian's chief of staff.
The meeting was part of Su's efforts to solicit opinions from various social quarters about Chen's much-touted constitutional re-engineering plan outlined in his May 20 inaugural speech.
Noting that gender equality has become a mainstream value, Lee said this new concept should be enshrined in the nation's future constitution.
Wu said the government should adopt all possible measures to remove barriers to women's participation in politics and promote the development of a political culture characterized by gender equality.
Responding to their appeal, Su said the constitutional re-engineering plan is mainly aimed at formulating a "fit, timely and viable" constitution.
After the year-end legislative elections, Su said, the constitution re-engineering preparatory committee will unveil a draft constitutional reform version for screening by the Legislative Yuan. The nation's first ad hoc National Assembly, which will also be the last of its kind, will then be elected to endorse the constitution.
The meeting with women's leaders was the fourth stop on Su's campaign to solicit opinions about constitutional re-engineering to forge a national consensus on the ambitious reform program.