小编物语

◎在1月4日的波士顿市议会投票中，出生并成长于芝加哥的30岁华裔美女吴弭(Michelle Wu)成功当选为波士顿市历史上首位亚裔议长，同时也是首位担任此要职的有色人种女性。

这个照片中的姑娘正在改写华裔特别是女性华裔在美国参政的历史。

1985年1月，吴弭出生在芝加哥南部的一个华人家庭。她的父母从中国台湾移民而来，而吴弭是家中四个孩子的老大。2003年时，吴弭作为伊利诺伊州代表荣获“美国总统奖学金”(U.S. Presidential Scholar)，并在其母校巴林顿高中(Barrington High School)担任毕业演讲发言人。在高中的最后一年中，吴弭还担任“全美高中生联盟”(National Junior Classical League)的主席。这一切的荣誉都充分体现了吴弭在其高中阶段所取得的无与伦比的成绩。

在2003年高中毕业后，吴弭以优异的成绩被哈佛大学录取，她也就此离开了出生和成长的故乡——芝加哥，踏上了波士顿的土地。在2007年本科毕业后，吴弭又进入了哈佛法学院深造。这也开启了她步入政坛成为美国政界新星的“星光大道”。

吴弭在竞选过程中曾透露，她当年曾经在芝加哥开班过一家小型茶餐厅。这样的经历也使得她十分关注小商业主的利益诉求。2013年，吴弭开始竞选波士顿市市议会议员，并且成功跻身议会、成为波士顿当时仅有的两名亚裔市议员。

1月4日一早，波士顿市议会在当地法纳尔大厅举行就职典礼。波士顿市长马丁•沃尔什说，对于波士顿来说今天是令人激动的一天，市议会注入了新鲜血液，同时也具有丰富经验。沃尔什说，波士顿是一个处于上升阶段的城市，永远不会向后看。

吴弭在发表就职演说提到自己将致力于解决收入不平等，刑事司法体制的改革，改善教育机会以及应对气候变化。吴弭表示，当前正处于历史不平等的阶段，机遇的缺乏已经导致波士顿鲜明分化。正是在这种背景之下，市政府的工作显得比以往任何时候都重要。

身为华裔移民的女儿，吴弭十多年前到波士顿并就读于哈佛大学，2013年开始竞选市议会医院的职位，成功跻身成为波士顿第二名亚裔市议员。吴弭曾任麻省联邦参议院沃伦(ElizabethWarren)竞选团队的一员。她曾在芝加哥开创了一家小茶餐厅的经历，让她非常关注小商业、教育和健保；在波士顿市长办公室工作期间，她帮助制作出了第一份申请餐馆营业执照的指南，更推动了波士顿餐车的发展。参加竞选的念头主要来自她的导师-首位女麻州地区联邦参议员沃伦。目前波士顿女性比例已经过半，而市府中仅有一位女性议员，女性身份成了吴弭竞选中的一大关键。

以下是美国NBC News对此次事件的报道：

After a unanimous vote by the Boston City Council Monday, second-term at-large City Councilor Michelle Wu was elected and inaugurated as president of the city council.

Michelle Wu is the first Asian American to serve as the president of the Boston City Council. She was sworn in for her second term as a city councilor on Jan. 4, 2016. Ryuji Suzuki / Courtesy of the Office of Michelle Wu

At 30 years of age, Wu, who is an attorney, is the first Asian American, first woman of color, and third woman to ever hold the office in the Boston City Council's 106-year history. She is also the council's youngest current member.

"We're sworn in today at a time of historic inequality. This lack of opportunity has to led to stark divisions in Boston," Wu said in her first address as Boston City Council president, as reported by the Boston Herald. "It is against this backdrop that the work of city government is more vital than ever."

Originally from Chicago, Wu attended Harvard University as an undergraduate, going on to Harvard Law School. She also worked for former Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino as a Rappaport fellow in law and public policy and for her former law professor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), as statewide constituency director during Warren's U.S. Senate campaign.

At the inauguration ceremony, Warren spoke warmly about Wu, as reported by the Boston Herald.

"She's not just a woman full of good ideas and a passionate heart, but a woman who gets out and does the hard work that needs to be done to make a difference," Warren said.