Best-selling Hong Kong martial arts novelist Louis Cha (
The book was inscribed with a message urging Ma to work for better relations with China.
``May our hero ... always endeavor for cross-Straits eternal peace,'' Cha wrote in the copy of one of his best-known novels, The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Saber (
London-based Cha sent the book to Ma, and the gift was made public yesterday.
Cha -- who uses the pen name Jin Yong (
Yesterday, Ma told TVBS cable news that the writer "has such high hopes of me. I was moved and will write back to thank him."
The Harvard-educated Ma is in a close race for leadership of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
His rival in the July 16 party leader race is Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Taiwanese media said the popular novelist may have picked the wrong gift for Ma.
The Heaven Sword, published in 1963, features a kindhearted hero who is weak-minded and indecisive -- but he uses his kungfu skills to unify a divided gang, and is elected its leader.
Media-savvy, charismatic Ma is often criticized for shying away from controversy. He brushed off comparisons of himself and the book's hero.
He said he favors Guo Qing (
"Guo Qing is a tragic hero who sacrificed his life in guarding the country" against the invading Mongolians, Ma said.
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