Photo/Illutration Shan-tian Mo-yi, a candidate in the election of New Taipei City assembly, greets a supporter during the campaign on Nov. 11. (The Asahi Shimbun)

TAIPEI--Taiwan will likely gain more female assembly members in the Nov. 26 unified local elections as a result of a quota system that allocates female-only seats in proportion to seat numbers in each electoral district.

For an electoral district with four to seven assembly seats, one seat must be allocated to a woman. In districts with eight to 11 assembly seats, two must be occupied by female members.

Political parties have been searching for candidates who can win these female-only seats.

In the previous unified local elections in 2018, an average of 30.83 percent of candidates endorsed by all political parties were female. In those elections, 33.66 percent of all elected assembly members were women.

This means that female candidates won seats that were not only allocated to women.

In the Nov. 26 local elections, 36.94 percent of candidates for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party are women, while the female candidate ratio for the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party is around 35 percent.

This shows the quota system has taken root among political parties in Taiwan.

Huang Chang-ling, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University, who has studied various countries’ political systems, says more needs to be done to increase female representation in politics.

“To encourage women to enter the political world, social structures must change, such as expectations that women perform such roles as household chores,” Huang said.

The professor also says it is necessary to remove barriers that prevent women from participating in society.

Nine of the 21 candidates who are fighting for the nine assembly seats in New Taipei City are women, including Shan-tian Mo-yi, 32, a DPP candidate.

“My name is Shan-tian,” she said on the campaign trail on Nov. 11 in the city in northern Taiwan. “I’m a first-time candidate in the city assembly election.”

Born to a Japanese father, who died when she was a child, and a Taiwanese mother, Shan-tian’s name can be pronounced as “Mai Yamada” in Japanese, which has surprised some voters.

Her surname is pronounced “Shan-tian” in Chinese.

After graduating from university, she worked as a staff member of the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s legislature, and as a secretary for its speaker.

She decided to stand in the local election in autumn last year.

“I want to ensure that young people’s voices are heard in politics,” she says.

Shan-tian, who is fluent in Japanese and English, also wants to use her connection to Japan.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic started, Shan-tian visited Toyama Prefecture, her father’s hometown, every year.

“I would like to create policies in cooperation with Japanese female politicians,” Shan-tian says.

According to the Japanese government, an average of 11.78 percent of prefectural assembly members in Japan were women as of the end of fiscal 2021.

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