Reading 4 Where Are All the Women.docVIP

Reading 6 October 26, 2012 Where are the powerful Chinese women? By Beijing bureau BBC News Despite her skills and education, Lin Shuang has no desire to enter politics Continue reading the main story Chinas New Leaders Soft power play The candidates Economic miracle? Change and challenge Wearing combat boots and with her hair pulled into a high ponytail, 22-year-old Lin Shuang doesnt look like the straight-laced men who sit at the helm of Chinas Communist Party. But that hasnt stopped her from spending four years attempting to become a party member in hope of boosting her career prospects. Fluent in English, Ms Lin is a top student at Beijings elite Foreign Affairs University and an active member of the Communist Youth League. She is also passionate about politics. When studying in New York City for a semester this year, she was on campus the day President Barack Obama visited Columbia University. It was so exciting to be that close to the president, she smiles. In many other countries, this accomplished young woman might be a prime candidate to work in government and, eventually, to help run her country. But Ms Lin will not even consider that option. I dont know much about the culture in Chinese politics, but I think its pretty masculine, she explains. Instead, she wants to work with a non-profit organisation, perhaps one that battles domestic violence. It is not hard to see why Ms Lin and others like her might shy away from Chinas political system. Female leaders are a rare breed in Chinas traditionally male-dominated society. The most famous women in Chinese history - the Empress Dowager Cixi and Jiang Qing, wife of Mao Zedong - were the partners of powerful men. That trend is unlikely to change soon. Rumours swirling around Beijing indicate the new Politburo Standing Committee, the powerful group that runs China, will be staffed entirely by men when it is unveiled next month. One woman, Liu Yandong, is rumoured to be in the running for a