- Ren Hou
Ren Hou (蓮舫, born
November 28 ,1967 ) is aJapan ese journalist and politician who is currently a member of the upper house of theDiet of Japan .Born Murata Renhō (村田 蓮舫) in
Tokyo to aTaiwan ese father and Japanese mother, she studied at the prestigiousAoyama Gakuin school in Tokyo during her youth. After taking Japanese citizenship in1985 , she enrolled in the law faculty ofAoyama Gakuin University , graduating in1990 .After her debut as a
Clarion Girl in1988 , Ren Hou appeared on several television and radio programs as a commentator. Eventually, she became a newscaster on TBS andTV Asahi , covering several historical events including theGreat Hanshin Earthquake .She was married in
1993 and studied Chinese atBeijing University in1995 . In1997 , she gave birth to two children. Ren Hou returned to television in 2000, anchoring and reporting on several TBS programs. She reported from Taiwan duringChen Shui-bian 's presidential campaign, which brought her to the attention of Taiwanese political leaders.In July of
2004 , Ren Hou was elected to the House of Councillors representing Tokyo as a member of theDemocratic Party of Japan . Ren Hou has criticized Japan's diplomacy with China and its refusal to recognize Taiwan, stating that "Japan is too polite when dealing with China, taking a low profile" and "Taiwan is my father's country. Why isn't Taiwan a country?"Since taking office, Ren Hou has travelled to Taiwan several times on official and unofficial business, garnering extensive public and media attention. She is reportedly close to many senior members of the
Democratic Progressive Party .Her full Chinese name is Hsieh Lien-fang (謝蓮舫), but she is often referred to as Lien Fang, the Chinese transliteration of her Japanese name.
External links
* [http://www.renho.jp/ Ren Hou's homepage (in Japanese)]
* [http://www.dpj.or.jp/giin/show_giin.php3?id=320&lang=english Ren Hou profile at DPJ]
* [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/08/16/2003198960 Su, "Japanese politician with roots in Taiwan latest media darling," "Taipei Times", 2004/08/16]
* [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/08/17/2003199064 Huang, "President wants Ren Hou to be bridge," "Taipei Times", 2004/08/17]
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