Female Lawmakers, World Elections

News Bites

Hi there.
It's time for an all-new episode of News Bites.
I'm Nancy Sun.
And I'm Hope Ngo.
In today's news…
The new VP wants a better balance between men and women lawmakers, and countries around the world choose new leaders.
And in today's Tasty Tidbit
If you want to hear something more quickly, get in the water!
Stay tuned for all that and more, coming up next!
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副總統希望立委女性比例達到50%
Vice President Hsiao Wants 50% Women in Legislature
Who are the women leading Taiwan?
There are lots of female (女性) mayors and lawmakers.
And don’t forget, for the past eight years, the president (總統) has been a woman.
Tsai Ing-wen was the first woman to lead the country.
It was a big deal.
After all, many countries have never elected a female leader…
…even big countries like the United States and Japan.
甚至美國、日本等一些大國也從未選出女性領導人。
What about the new leader?
Tsai’s former Vice President Lai Ching-te is becoming the new president.
He’s a man, but his Vice President (副總統) Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) is a woman.
That means Hsiao is now the top representative (代表) for women in Taiwan.
What are her goals?
Hsiao wants to increase the number of lawmakers who are women.
蕭美琴希望增加女性立法委員的數量。
She says her goal is to reach 50% female representation in the Legislative Yuan (立法院).
That means she wants at least half of the lawmakers to be women.
There are 113 seats in the Legislative Yuan .
Let’s do the math… about half of 113 is 57…
So, her goal is to get that many women lawmakers.
Taiwan already has 47.
That’s more than 40% of lawmakers, which is the highest proportion in all of Asia (全亞洲比例最高).
Still, Vice President Hsiao thinks we can do better.
Why is it important to have women in government?
One reason is equality (平等).
Men and women should have equal chances to be leaders and decision-makers.
Another reason is different perspectives (視角不同).
Women might have different ideas than men because of their unique experiences (獨特的經歷).
So a government with more women will think about more viewpoints when it makes new laws.
A third reason is to have role models (榜樣).
When girls see women with power, it shows them that they can achieve anything.
These are three big reasons, but I’m sure you can think of some more.
Let’s hope the Vice President’s goal becomes a reality.
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2024全球大選年
2024 Big Election Year Worldwide
When is the big election (大選) this year?
That depends on where in the world you go.
Taiwan had elections in January, but other countries are voting (投票) throughout the year.
Let’s check the calendar.
我們來檢查一下世界選舉年曆。
On January 13th, Taiwan elected (選了) President Lai and Vice President Hsiao.
The same month, Taiwan’s ally (邦交國家) Tuvalu chose a new leader.
The leader said he would keep a good relationship with Taiwan, which is great for us.
In February, two of Asia’s most populous (人口最多) countries, Pakistan and Indonesia, both chose new leaders.
Russia had elections in March, but people question if they were fair…
…as the winner, Vladimir Putin, has already been leader for 25 years.
There was also a vote in India.
It’s the biggest election in the world, with nearly a billion voters joining in.
這是全世界最大的選舉，近十億選民參加。
Wow, it’s only spring and there have already been so many elections.
What about later this year?
Next month is the election in Mexico.
The two main candidates (候選人) are both women.
That’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Xochitl Galvez.
That means Mexico will likely get its first female president this year.
Then in November, there are big elections in the United States.
It’s Donald Trump versus Joe Biden again.
Some Americans are not happy with these two.
Both men are around eighty years old, but some want a younger leader.
許多美國人認為川普和拜登都太老了。
Plus, they are also going to choose a new leader in the UK.
When is that?
The government has not announced the election date, but it should be this year.
Wow. Is that all?
Not even close.
There are also elections through the year in many other countries, such as Iceland, South Africa, Mongolia, and…
Okay, that’s enough, we get it!
好吧，夠了，我們明白了！
2024 is an important year for voters around the world.
No matter where you go, people hope to use their vote to make a change.
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So, in today’s News Bites…
Taiwan’s new Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim wants more women in government.
Her goal is to have 50% women lawmakers in the Legislative Yuan.
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And
Countries around the world are holding elections in 2024.
Taiwan voted in January, and India votes this month.
The US will vote in November.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit
In today's Tasty Tidbit…
Did you know that sound travels much faster through water than air?
In fact, it's about four times faster! But in water, it does take more energy to get that sound going.
So, next time you're swimming, imagine a dolphin talking to its friend - the message would zip right by you!
And that's it for today's episode of News Bites!
If you have a fun fact, a joke or an interesting news story you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [e-mail], and you might hear it at the end of an episode.
We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!