Annette Lu

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Annette Lu (呂秀蓮 副 總統) speaks at the 228 Memorial in Taipei

Annette Lu ( Chinese  呂秀蓮 , Pinyin Lǚ Xiùlián ; born June 7, 1944 in Taoyuan , Taiwan , then part of the Japanese Empire) was Vice President of the Republic of China in Taiwan from 2000 to 2008 .

Education and political engagement

Lu was born in Taoyuan and graduated from the prestigious Taipei First Girls' High School . She then studied law at the National Taiwan University . After graduating in 1967, she earned a Masters from the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign and another Masters from Harvard University .

During the 1970s she made a name for herself in Taiwan as an advocate of feminist ideas, not least through a book entitled Principles of New Women ( 新 女性 主義 , Xīn Nǚxìngzhǔyì  - "New Feminism"). She also joined the Dangwai movement and, from 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that emerged from it, and worked for Formosa Magazine . In 1974 she survived a cancer in the throat .

On December 10, 1979, she spoke at a rally and was then due sedition sentenced to 12 years in prison. The events of that day with the arrest of several opposition activists came to be known as the Kaohsiung Incident . After five years and four months, she was paroled on medical parole for suffering from thyroid cancer .

After the end of martial law in Taiwan in 1987, she was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1993 . In 1997 she won the provincial elections in Taoyuan and became governor of her home province. In the 2000 presidential election, she was elected vice-president alongside presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian .

Vice-Presidency 2000–2004

Political controversy

Lu Hsiu-lien advocated Taiwan's independence much more directly than President Chen Shui-bian and was therefore more violently attacked by the government of the People's Republic of China and by those in favor of Chinese reunification. This also led to differences with the president, whom she even publicly accused on one occasion of wanting her to play bad guys so that he would be better off. The president denied that.

As a result, in the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election, there was much speculation that Chen would make her his runner-up candidate again. Leading members of the party had urged him to choose a less controversial candidate in order to appeal more to the swing voters. The president was unimpressed and nominated Lu on December 11, 2003 for another term.

Assassination attempt in 2004

On March 19, 2004, the day before the election, both candidates were shot during an election rally in Tainan . Lu was shot in the kneecap while Chen was grazed in the stomach. Both suffered minor injuries and were able to leave Chi-mei Hospital on the same day. The pan-blue coalition , the political opponent, claimed the attack was put in order to get a sympathy bonus in the election. Chen and Lu won the elections by only 0.2%. After the election, a commission of inquiry was set up to investigate the incident and exonerate the president. However, there are still doubts about the official version of the events.

Vice-presidency 2004–2008

Political controversy

In the new electoral term, too, there were disputes over statements by the Vice President, who is known for being open about her political convictions. At a meeting with Taiwanese migrants in San Francisco , she suggested that the name of the state be changed to "Taiwanese Republic of China" in order to calm down discussions about the identity of Taiwan. This proposal sparked a heated discussion between supporters of Taiwan independence, who oppose the name "Republic of China" because it implies that the territory is China, and their opponents, who, in the Vice President's statement, violated the five no's policy recognized. Lu also stated that she only gave a personal opinion, not an official suggestion.

Party chairmanship of the DDP

After the resignation of DDP chairman Su Tseng-chang , who assumed responsibility for the party's defeat in the local elections of December 2005, the party's executive committee appointed Lu as acting chairman on December 7th. Already on December 12th, she resigned the presidency on the grounds that she wanted to stay out of internal party power struggles. However, the local press reported, citing unnamed DDP officials, that President Chen was concerned about Lu's appointment and her possible ambitions for the regular chairmanship.

Lu's resignation came after Chen canceled a meeting with her. In a surprising twist, however, she revoked her resignation two days later, invoking requests from committee members. On January 15, 2006, Yu Shyi-kun was elected as the new chairman of the DDP.

Presidential candidacy

On March 6, 2007, she announced her candidacy for the 2008 presidential election, but withdrew it after a poor result in the party's internal primaries.

Corruption allegations

On September 21, 2007, Vice President Lu was indicted by the Attorney General of the Republic of China. The allegations are of embezzlement and the use of false receipts to pay expenses totaling US $ 165,000 from a government account. Together with her, the party leader of the DDP, Yu Shyi-Kun , was also indicted, who then resigned from the chair.

Later developments

In May 2018, Lu lost to her rival candidate Yao Wen-chih in the internal party preselection for the mayoral election in Taipei in November 2018 . Thereupon she declared her resignation from the DPP, but did not return her membership card. In April 2018, the newly founded Formosa Alliance joined. On September 17, 2019, she submitted her candidacy for the 2020 presidential election , but withdrew it on November 2, 2019 after receiving fewer than 140,000 instead of the required 280,000 supporter signatures.

literature

  • Weyrauch, Thomas: China's neglected republic. 100 years in the shadow of world history. Volume 2 (1950-2011) . Longtai 2011, ISBN 978-3-938946-15-2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Washington Post, September 21, 2007
  2. ^ Su Mu-chun, Ko Lin: Alliance holds first meeting, calls for independence referendum. Focus Taiwan, June 16, 2018, accessed November 16, 2019 .
  3. Paul Huang: Taiwan's 2020 Presidential Race: Who Is Annette Lu and Why Is She Running for Taiwan's President? The New Lens, September 19, 2019, accessed November 16, 2019 .
  4. ^ Chen Yun: Annette Lu withdraws presidential bid. Taipei Times, November 3, 2019, accessed November 16, 2019 .