`Fake' Lu is Lu's top fan

An entertainer who revived his dying TV career by impersonating Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) says he's the man who loves her the most.

Ni min-jan (倪敏然), who once hosted a popular variety show in the late 1970s, says he owes his comeback to the vice president.

"I love her because I respect her. I respect her because I understand her. I think I am the man who loves her the most in Taiwan," Ni writes in his autobiography, which was released yesterday.

The entertainer says he shows his love by protecting the public image of the politician responsible for his comeback.

"I jump out and defend Lu whenever people criticize her and I make sure that my impersonation never damages her image as the nation's vice president," Ni writes.

"I've tried to play the role of Lu with my own interpretation of her," Ni said at a press conference yesterday. "I want to show the audience an extension of Lu with her unique features, rather than an exact impersonation of Lu."

At yesterday's press conference, Ni also showed reporters a letter from Lu congratulating him for his talented performance.

Described by local media as the "master of the variety show," Ni rose to fame as one of four co-hosts of the popular program Golden Partners, which made him a household name.

But Ni's star dimmed after the TV show's run ended in the 1980s. Attempts at other variety shows flopped and Ni's spirits fell, saying in his book that he felt he had lost his talent.

Between 1988 and 2000, he worked for a radio station and also joined the KMT as a campaign assistant.

Still, he longed to perform.

"I was like a dying swan that was trapped on a pond without any hope for 12 years, until another chance came knocking on my door," Ni said.

In 2000, the Performance Workshop (表演工作坊) invited Ni to participate in a talk show. Director Stan Lai (賴聲川) suggested that Ni impersonate Lu to promote the show.

"The talk show was a huge success and I was inspired by that performance, thinking it would be challenging to impersonate a woman with unique characteristics," Ni said.

Since then, Ni's impersonation of Lu has been a huge hit with other TV producers, who invite him to perform on their programs regularly.

His performance is at times so believable that he often convinces himself. "Sometimes I really can't tell whether I am me or Lu," Ni said.

Asked who else he might impersonate, Ni said the DPP female lawmaker Chiou Yi-ying (邱議瑩) was a possibility. Ni said Chiou would be a big challenge because she's young and pretty.

"Only in a democratic nation can an artist get to choose whoever he or she wants to impersonate," Ni said.