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Volatile, vilified Annette Lu takes no prisoners, whether home or overseas

Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) officially began campaigning for an encore performance as Taiwan's vice president yesterday after a tumultuous term during which she was branded a "traitor" by China and sued local journalists for defamation.

Her confirmation as running mate to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) ended months of speculation that Chen would drop the outspoken Lu, who has scored poorly in support ratings, in favor of a partner who would appeal to more moderate voters.

With a lifelong career of defying the establishment, Taiwan's first woman vice president refused to be a political wallflower after taking a high-profile but largely toothless job.

Chen praised Lu yesterday for her "unmatched partnership," but their cooperation got off to a poor start.

Just one month after her May 2000 inauguration, Lu told reporters the vice presidency may as well be abolished if it did not have real power, prompting Chen to say: "We are willing to give her more opportunities and a stage, but we also need to comply with our constitutional system."

Lu's strong pro-independence stance has led China's state media to call her "scum of the nation," words reserved for vilified enemies like former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).

"On the one hand, Beijing believes increasing economic and cultural integration can persuade Taiwan's people to accept reunification. But on the other hand, it is boosting its military capabilities to invade Taiwan," Lu said in yesterday's acceptance speech.

Strained relations with the local media has hurt her domestic popularity as well. She won a landmark defamation suit against a prominent news weekly in a case that ignited debate on press freedom.

The Journalist magazine alleged Lu made an anonymous phone call to one of its editors saying: "There is a sex scandal in the Presidential Office, heh, heh, heh," after opposition legislators threatened to recall the president.

Lu was completely vindicated by the court but the words "heh, heh, heh" have since served as a punchline for countless jokes in the media.

Lu is a pioneer of Taiwan's women's movement and made her political start in civil rights. She has been active in foreign affairs since taking the vice presidency and her unpredictable style has won mixed results.

She surprised Indonesia with an unofficial visit last year, showing up at the airport without notifying Jakarta ahead of time. She won a rare meeting with an Indonesian government official, but ridicule from China, which called the trip a "farce."

Lu launched her political career after earning a master's degree in law from Harvard University in 1977.

Lu joined Taiwan's opposition movement when the island was still under martial law and opposition parties were banned.

She was jailed on sedition charges for her role in a street protest in Kaohsiung in 1979 which was marred by violent clashes with military police -- a landmark in Taiwan's democratization.
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