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Taiwan's outspoken Lu, a battler always fighting somebody
Vice President Annette Lu, injured in the leg in an apparent assassination attempt against her and President Chen Shui-bian, is a battler made for the brash and rumbustious world of Taiwanese politics.
Vice President Annette Lu, injured in the leg Friday in an apparent assassination attempt against her and President Chen Shui-bian, is a battler made for the brash and rumbustious world of Taiwanese politics.
Known for her trenchant views on controversial issues, she is tireless in attacking rival China, triggering streams of vitriol from Beijing.
The 59-year-old former dissident and political prisoner seizes every chance to criticize those promoting friendly ties with the mainland, describing Taiwanese companies doing business in China as "unpatriotic."
She also described French President Jacques Chirac as "shameless" for siding with Beijing to oppose Taiwan's first referendum to be held alongside the March 20 presidential elections.
Lu, who holds a master's degree in law from the University of Illinois, was a women's rights campaigner before joining mainstream party politics.
She received a 12-year prison term in 1980 for helping organize Taiwan's first unauthorized mass demonstration by the opposition in the previous year. When she was released in 1985, she continued to campaign for better human rights and democracy under Kuomintang rule.
In 1986 she joined other leading opposition members in forming the then illegal Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), now the ruling party. She was also behind the drive in 1993 pushing for Taiwan's re-entry to the United Nations, which was dropped in favor of China in 1971.
Lu was a member of parliament in 1993-96 and was serving as the highest elected official for Taoyuan county when the DPP's Chen Shui-bian asked her to be his running mate for the 2000 presidential race.
The DPP's surprise victory made her the highest-ranking woman in the government. Despite strong opposition from party seniors, Chen named her as running mate for his re-election bid.
Some analysts have said the ambitious Lu would have run for president if Chen had dropped her for another candidate.
