Yan Juo-Fang, a city council member in Taipei, and a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, is now working actively in politics. She graduated from the Chinese Culture University, where she majored in Political Science. She first served as the assistant of a former council member, Chien Yu-yen, and later became a worthy successor to Chien. In charge of the Wanhua district of Taipei City, she got experience from directly interacting with citizens, especially the underprivileged and oppressed. The time she served as an assistant enabled her to understand what people really need.  

 

There are four ideas that Juo-Fang values, including generational justice, food safety, living justice, and transitional justice. In addition, human rights are also an issue she pays much attention to. She puts a lot of effort into these issues, trying to persuade other councilors into agreeing with her proposals, which might, in turn, become legislation that benefits the citizens. Paying close attention to budgets, she hopes that people can deem what the government and city council are carrying out is worthy of the taxpayers’ money; by closely examining the budget, she makes sure that every penny the government spends will not go to waste. She thinks that there are still too many regulations that are out of date, some of which would obstruct the legislation of a bill or a motion. Accordingly, she advocates abolishing those regulations and believes that complementary measures are necessary. 

 

 

In the next four years, she hopes that Taipei can find its own position and develops its own characteristics and culture. Take street performers in Taipei, for example. Street performers must now obtain a professional certificate before they can perform on the streets. However, the qualification assessment is subjective and partial. There is no clear definition of street performance or art, so the jury decides whether people can get certified based on their own opinion. Juo-Fang considers this to be intolerable, and the related legislation should be revised with haste. She also regards an open platform for street performance as essential. 

 

Under a lot of pressure, she likes getting together with her friends after a busy day, trying to get those unpleasant matters out of her mind. As a public figure, she has little time left to do things to her heart’s content, since she has a full schedule every day. Despite such a busy life, she tries to have more things under her belt by continuing her studies in graduate school, acquiring more knowledge of the law. 

To the youths of this generation, she urges them to acquire more social experience and try to interact with others, and she also encourages them to do part-time jobs during their school days. With more social experience, it would be much easier for the youngsters to adjust themselves to the society and the workplace. The working experience can prevent them from being too egocentric, and it may help them to be more attentive to others’ need. 

With so much passion and such strong ideals, Juo-Fang is believed to be a rising star in the government.