Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) has agreed to let one of her novels be made into a TV program in the hope that it can help men obtain a better understanding of women, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Cho Chun-ying (卓春英), deputy director-general of the Presidential Office's Department of Public Affairs, told reporters yesterday that ETTV producer Tsai Chih-ping (柴智屏) visited Lu on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of turning Lu's novel, These Three Women, into a TV program.
Lu accepted the request and said she would be happy to help promote the show. She also stated that she did not have any preferences when it came to casting.
Tsai is the producer of the popular local soap opera Meteor Garden, which was a massive hit with young people in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and China in 2002.
Lu's novel, written when she was in jail because of her involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident, is about the contrasting lives of women. One gets married and moves to the US, and to her friends it seems as if she has everything, but she remains dogged by a strong sense of loss.
Another character is a university teacher, who despite being single leads a very colorful life. The third woman is a widow, who reminisces about the good old days with her late husband who she loved dearly -- yet also abhorred.
Cho denied that Lu, who is single, wrote the book to encourage women to stay single.
"The vice president hopes that it will help men learn more about women and help women have a better understanding of their role in modern society," he said.
Lu was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration on charges of "abetting a violent rebellion" for a 20-minute speech she made on the evening of the Kaohsiung Incident. The incident, which took place in December 1979, involved a state crackdown on an anti-government parade organized by Formosa magazine, for which Lu was vice president in the 1970s.
Lu wrote two novels during her imprisonment.
She dedicated These Three Women to her mother, who passed away when Lu was in jail. It was published by the Independence Evening Post Group in 1996. Lu has published 13 books, including the two novels.
Tsai said she would like to see the program broadcast abroad and not just at home. Her goal, she said, is to enter the show for the Golden Bell Awards.
In the meantime, Lu will soon be acting as a real-life matchmaker. The Taiwan Heart, a non-governmental foundation established by Lu in 2001, announced yesterday that it would hold a series of matchmaking events for single men and women.
The first of the events for this year takes place on Sunday. Forty single men and women have signed up for the one-day event, which will be held in Yangmei (楊梅), Taoyuan County.
Lu said that all participants have been carefully screened and that she would be delighted to attend the weddings of those who find a suitable mate.
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