I have always been reluctant to interview high-ranking Chinese politicians because it's so rare to get a candid statement. No matter what question you ask you will likely get a long-winded and evasive answer, lacking in any detail or color. As for personal flair, you can forget it!

That's why it's such a breath of fresh air to interview someone like Chen Zhili, vice-chair of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress and the chairperson of the All-China Women's Federation.

She surprised me by being so open during our discussion on the empowerment of women in China.

When Chen took up her position, in 2008, she had a clear goal of empowering ordinary women by giving access to programs like micro-loans, and to regular medical screenings for breast cancer and cervical cancer.

Although the rates of employment for women in China are higher than in many other countries, the proportion of women in leadership roles is relatively low. The global ranking of women leaders in the national congress, which is 21 percent, reflects a drop from 12th position in the 1990s, to somewhere in the 50s in recent years.

"We cannot insist that people vote on the basis of gender instead of merit, but we can do our best to enlarge the pool of qualified eligible female candidates for the People's Congress," Chen says.

"The best place to start is at the village committee level, by having greater representation by women to deal with such important issues as land transfers and local resource management. It doesn't make sense that 60 percent of the rural population is female but only 17 percent of the village committee members are women."

I was also curious to find out her opinions on the status of urban women, such as the so-called "Left-behind Ladies", referring to well educated and economically independent unmarried 30-something women.

"I really think they are under appreciated, but at the same time I do not think that getting married is the only option for women. If a woman hasn't found someone that she truly loves, why is it wrong for her to remain single? Isn't that better than getting involved in a painful relationship that is destined to fail?"

To those women who believe they should be married to someone older, wiser, richer and better educated, Chen says: "I have been married many years to my husband, who is younger, less-educated and earns less. I don't think that has ever affected my happiness."

She recalls her days as a young working mother when her husband was serving in the PLA. "Those were tough times because I was working hard as well as taking care of my two kids, and I had no one else to turn to ... I could still manage to find time for reading. The secret of work-life balance for me, is efficiency."

But she also admits that there were moments of guilt when she would return home late from work and find her children sleeping in their chairs, without having had their dinners.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, which is a good point to reflect further on the issue.

Half a century ago, former chairman Mao Zedong liberated the women of China by giving them the right to do work other than just take care of their family by coming up with his famous quote: "Women hold up half the sky".

"I believe that women's liberation is about winning respect as an equal in society," Chen says. "Economic independence is an important part of that, but I also believe that the progress of productivity in the nation has empowered women."

I think winning respect could have been the motivation that enabled her to carry heavier loads than the men at the re-education camp she was sent to during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). She has shown herself to be as capable or more capable than a man in her various government posts too.

Though Chen aspired to be a scientist when she was young, she has shown that when life is full of twists and turns, she has been able to excel in whatever role she has taken on.

Yang Lan One On One, is shown on Shanghai Dragon TV, Sat 23:10PM.