Another "explicit" admirer of Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) made himself public yesterday, this time via a large sign saying "I love you" placed alongside the highway near Changhua in central Taiwan.
The admirer, Tony Chen, who is an English teacher at a cram school, said the move was absolutely not a momentary impulse, adding that he has planned it for a long time as a gift to Lu for the upcoming Valentine's Day.
The billboard shows a photo Chen took with Lu and the words: "Vice President Lu Shiu-lian, I Love You. Confession from Famous English Teacher Tony Chen. Happy Valentine's Day!"
The "I love you" sign will stand for one year at cost of NT$1.028 million, including location rent, fees to have the sign made, the electricity bill and building costs, according to Chen.
Chen denied putting up the highway sign to gain personal publicity, saying that "I don't need to publicize myself as I'm already a popular cram school English teacher, a well known writer and a scholar with two master's degrees from the United States who has more than 100 lecture chairs a year."
He stressed that the sign is only an expression of his admiration for the vice president, whom he said he has long been attracted to for her "compassion for people, congeniality, courage, political perceptiveness and global vision."
Noting that a roadside sign is the "most direct" way of showing his love for Lu, Chen said that he wants the entire country to see his expression of love and that he hopes the vice president will give him a kind response.
If possible, Chen said, he would be pleased to help the vice president to fulfill one of her wishes of seeing the English level of the people of Taiwan further upgraded.
Some people have expressed concern that the sign might be viewed as illegal and therefore removed. Chen responded by arguing that if that is the case, all the billboards along the Sun Yat-sen Freeway should also be removed.
A previous admirer of Lu, a man who runs a Taipei debt collection agency tried to take 999 roses to her at the Presidential Office last year.
Tung Nien-tai (董念台) tried to bring Lu the roses to court her, but the move caused a commotion in front of the Presidential Office and Tung and his roses were barred by police from entering the premises.
The flowers were not acknowledged by Lu's office and Lu did not respond to Tung's courtship.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
RSS