Intrepid duo launch search

The front cover of VIce President Annette Lu's new book The Past and Future of Taiwan, which features a picture of an anonymous girl. TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO

Those who have read The Past and Future of Taiwan by Vice President Annette Lu may have mistaken the little girl on the book's cover for the young Lu. However, she is not Lu, but a girl from Lukang Township who today should be around 30 to 40 years old.

With a new edition of the 25-year-old book released last Monday, a search for the little girl, who appears on both the original and latest versions of the book, was undertaken by former legislator Chen Wen-huei (陳文輝) and Academia Historica Vice-President Liu Feng-song (劉峰松). Chen, who took the picture, and Liu spent three hours on Wednesday talking to residents in Lukang about the girl in the picture, but to no avail.

"At the time [of writing the book], Lu had just stepped down from her job at the Executive Yuan and founded Groundbreaker Publishing House on Hsinsheng South Road," Chen said.

When Lu said she wanted to write a book about Taiwan's past and future, Chen, along with former Taichung mayor Chang Wen-huei (張文輝), hailed a cab and took Lu to explore Lukang.

In Lukang, the trio enjoyed great food, visited temples and took many pictures, including the picture of the little girl.

"The girl looked as if she was contemplating the future of Taiwan, which I find intriguing," Chen said.

When asked what he would do if the little girl was found, Chen replied jokingly that Lu would have to pay her royalty fees.

By looking for this girl, Chen said he is looking for a piece of Taiwanese history. At the very least, Chen said, he is curious to know how this girl is doing.