Washington, Jan. 24 (CNA) Minister without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) from Taiwan has been named in the 2019 issue of U.S.-based Foreign Policy magazine's list of Top 100 Global Thinkers, published Wednesday. The 100 nominees were split into 10 group, with Tang grouped under readers' choices -- a South Korean President Moon Jae-in, former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama, and trade advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump Peter Navarro have also been included in the category.
The magazine depicted Tang as the world's only transgender Cabinet minister, saying that she first came to prominence as a star computer programmer and entrepreneur. "In 2018, Tang showed her dedication to her portfolio as Taiwan's digital minister by addressing the United Nations from an iPad," it said. In response, Tang wrote on her Facebook page Thursday that her inclusion in this year's list shows that Taiwan's social development and democratic innovation have gained worldwide recognition and serves as encouragement for her to continue to work in the area.
Also on the list is a collective of authoritarian leaders labeled as the Strongman, who include Vladimir Putin of Russia, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, Xi Jinping (習近平) of China, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and U.S. President Donald Trump. The exclusion of any country to the WHA, the WHO's highest decision-making body, would result in a missing link in the global health care system, he said. Julio César Peralta Rodas, deputy permanent representative of Paraguay to the U.N., used an example of cooperation between Paraguay and Taiwan to highlight Taiwan's contributions in the health care field. Reference at: http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201901240005.aspx
