President Chen Shui-bian (
In his address to guests attending the engagement banquet held at the Evergreen Laurel Hotel in Tai-chung, the beaming president several times expressed satisfaction in his son's bride-to-be, Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), praising her as "bright, pretty and considerate."
The president also shared a story about how twenty years ago, his son began taking piano lessons but stopped some months later when Wu was hit by a truck in an assassination attempt in 1985 which left her paralyzed from the waist down.
PHOTO: PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE
"It is God's will that twenty years later we would have a daughter-in-law who plays piano," the president said, referring to Huang, who specializes in piano performance and graduated last year with a degree in music from the Taipei National University of Art.
Noting that his wife used to tease him as someone who knows how to run for president but doesn't know how to appreciate music, the president said he is delighted "that with Jui-ching as a member of the family, [she] would bring delight and relaxation to the family, and my wife would no longer kid me as one who does not know how to appreciate music."
Chen Chih-chung will marry Huang on July 18. The wedding will be held at Taipei's Sheraton Hotel.
With both his daughter and son now grown-up and with their own families, President Chen said his concerns as a worried parent are gone, and that with the remaining three years of his presidency, he can put all energy and attention on undertaking reforms.
Yesterday was also the Duanwu Festival (
Prior to the engagement banquet, a traditional ritual was held at Huang's residence in which Huang, the daughter-in-law-to-be, offered a cup of tea to both the president and Wu and addressed them as "father" and "mother." In return, Huang was given "red envelopes" as gifts from her future parents-in-law. The new couple then exchanged rings.
The engagement ceremony was held in Taichung because it's close to Huang's hometown in Changhua County.
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