Vice Premier Wu Yi is
the world’s second most powerful woman, according to a
Forbes magazine list that also included India’s Sonia
Gandhi, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Peng Peiyun, president of the All-China Women’s
Federation, was number 47 on the list of the world’s 100 most
powerful women, while Xie Qihua, chair and president of the
Shanghai Baosteel Group, was in 55th place. Ma Xuezheng, vice chair
of the Lenovo Group, was in 80th place.
Condoleezza Rice, the national security advisor of U.S.
President George W. Bush, topped the Forbes list, published
in the September 6 issue.
Sonia Gandhi, president of India’s ruling Congress Party, came
in third.
Fourth through seventh places were dominated by American women:
US First Lady Laura Bush, Senator Hillary Clinton and two Supreme
Court justices. Megawati came in eighth, followed by Arroyo.
Hewlett-Packard chair and chief executive Carly Fiorina rounded out
the top ten.
Forbes assigns a numerical weight to each candidate based
on job title, resume, sphere of power and global media
mentions.
Top Singapore businesswoman Ho Ching, the wife of newly
installed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was a notable
non-politician appearing in the list.
The list also includes heiresses, media and entertainment
personalities, queens and the wives of political leaders.
(China Daily August 23, 2004)