Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) is scheduled to release a new edition of her book The Past and Future of Taiwan (台灣的過去與未來) on Tuesday. In a coincidence, the book's release will coincide with the publication of Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) memoirs.
Both Lu and Su will hold their book releases on Tuesday afternoon. This coincidence comes on the heels of a perceived personal competition between the two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members to be the DPP's vice presidential candidate.
On Thursday, President Chen Shui-bian (
Lu, a former political dissident and victim of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government's suppression of opposition, will publish her book to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the severing of diplomatic ties between the Republic of China (ROC) and the US.
Lu wrote the book during the 1970s while she was studying law at Harvard University.
In the book Lu predicted the eventual breaking-off of relations between Taipei and Washington and wrote that the international status of Taiwan remained unresolved.
The book was blacklisted by the KMT authorities, though Lu's prediction that the US would break off relations with the ROC was borne out by fact on Dec. 16, 1978.
On the same day Lu releases the new edition of her book, Su will unveil his memoirs.
In a volume that describes his career and life experience, Su, who was dubbed "the lightning bulb" (電火球) by an entertainer, speaks of the power of being an executive.
Su started his political career in 1979, when he was defense counsel for Formosa Incident victim Yao Chia-wen (
Later serving as councilor of the provincial assembly and commissioner of Pingtung County, Su is in his second term heading Taipei County Government.
Su's book was finished in July, but Su delayed its release because he didn't want to be seen as fishing for the vice presidency.
"I didn't want anyone to interpret the book as symbolic of an aspiration on my part to be the president's running mate," Su said during an interview with the Taipei Times yesterday.
Former DPP Chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) will attend Su's book release, one of Su's top aides said.
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