Chinese Women Seek to Be Innovative, Pioneering

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 11, 2003

Chinese Women Seek to Be Innovative, Pioneering

As creativity has become a widely accepted yardstick in judging a person's capacity and achievement, more Chinese women have acquired a pioneering spirit that has won them widespread respect.

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As creativity has become a widely accepted yardstick in judging a person's capacity and achievement, more Chinese women have acquired a pioneering spirit that has won them widespread respect.

On the occasion of International Women's Day that falls on March 8 every year, the southwestern municipality of Chongqing selects the city's "top ten innovative women" out of nearly 100 candidates who are innovative and accomplished in various fields.

Such women include laid-off workers who have worked their way up as successful businesswomen, entrepreneurs who have led state-owned enterprises to prosperity, teachers in remote rural areas who have introduced creative thinking to thousands of children, and scholars who have made important research findings. The success stories of these women have stunned even their male counterparts.

"You cannot help admiring these women for their wisdom and creativity -- the result of which has contributed greatly to our social progress," said a voter who gave him surname as Li.

Some 130,000 citizens in Chongqing cast their votes, according to Yang Enfang, head of the Municipal Women's Federation. "To our pleasant surprise, the event has spurred the citizens' enthusiasm in innovation as well," said Yang.

Creativity has endowed Chongqing women, who have long been dubbed as "capable, persevering and elegant", with a new charm.

With the rise of women's social status and the increasing popularity of innovation and creativity, women scientists, business tycoons, fashion designers and even homemakers who have been successful as full-time wives and mothers have received widespread admiration in recent years.

Cai Wenqin, a noted embryologist and surgeon with the People's Liberation Army, said she was "excited" to rank among the top ten.

"I was awarded many prizes before, but none were as exciting," she siad. "It reminds us women of our mission and responsibility."

"Women must break down conventions and exert their talent in order to shoulder the same responsibility as men," said Zeng Furong, head of the Foreign Languages School affiliated to the Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages in Chongqing.

Zeng has been creative in running her school and her students have been applauded by colleges and universities at home and abroad as "highly competitive" and "pioneering".

Though mechanics has long been considered the realm of men, Li Yuhong, vice president of a local iron and steel plant, has overshadowed most of her male colleagues.

By upgrading the plant's facilities and applying new technologies, Li has increased its steel output by over 20,000 tons and cut costs by some 800,000 yuan (96,000 US dollars).

"In today's society, women enjoy the same right to education as men, and have the same opportunities," she said. "It's a time that demands creativity, and has made it possible for women to be as creative as men."

Statistics show that female entrepreneurs account for 20 percent of the national total, and 41 percent of the country's private business owners are women.

Historically, Chinese women were expected to be subservient, said Yu Ping, head of the Sociology Institute of the Chongqing Municipal Academy of Social Sciences.

"Today, women are determined to 'hold up half the sky' -- and to fill it with rosy clouds," she said. "We feel proud of them. They deserve respect from the whole society."

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