Frank, quick-witted and having a great sense of humor, Wu Shu-chen (
Tseng Wen-hui (
In contrast to her predecessors, Wu behaves much more like a next-door neighbor, especially in the ways she expresses her true feelings.
At home, Wu always amuses the public by her spontaneously witty remarks. Her charm as a public speaker was further revealed during her recent landmark trip to the US.
Wu returned home last Sunday from her 11-day visit to New York, Washington and Los Angeles. She was the first president's wife from Taiwan in 50 years to attend a reception on Capitol Hill.
During her journey, the first lady appealed to US' political circles and the overseas Taiwanese community with her genuineness as well as her sharp responses in the face of the media's questioning.
"If Taiwan is not a country, how could you call me first lady?" Wu said, responding to a question by a CBS reporter, who asked her if Taiwan is a country.
"[The fact that Taiwan is a country is clear,] it is just like it is needless to stress my being a woman," Wu said.
Wu's performance during her historic visit received acclaim from the public, who billed her "a natural-born diplomat" because she knew how to best uphold the country's pride with simple and clear language.
Wu should be praised, but not only for her success in widening Taiwan's diplomatic horizons. What deserves more admiration is her strong will to conquer her physical limitations while trying to take Taiwan to the world.
"Wu's iron-will has posed a striking contrast to her small, feeble body," said a Presidential Office official.
After a traffic accident 17 years ago, which many suspect was actually a politically motivated attempt on her life, Wu has been paralyzed from the chest down and confined to a wheelchair.
"She cannot stand on her own feet, but she used a wheelchair to push Taiwan to the United States, to Washington," her husband, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), told the media the day after her return.
"Given Wu's bold example, there is no reason why other Taiwanese should be either pessimistic or lacking in energy in pursuing Taiwan's diplomatic goals," Chen said.
Despite her physical pain and the inconvenience resulting from her confinement to a wheelchair, Wu appears unusually optimistic.
"I would choose to cry if it would free me from this wheelchair. But the fact is I'll be bound to this wheelchair no matter what. So why not choose to be happier?" Wu once said.
It is due to this mindset that we see the first lady making fun of her own tiny breasts and the fact that she is experiencing menopause -- explaining why she can sometimes be emotionally unstable at home.
She also jokes about her husband's fat stomach and his being an unromantic and sometimes boring man.
"A-bian is just like tap water. It is tasteless, but I can't go on with my life without it," she once said with her trademark amusing style.
The love story between Chen and Wu is one of the most talked-about subjects since Chen was elected as president.
Their romance seems to be made up of the material used in soap operas.
The daughter of a doctor, Wu comes from a well-heeled family, whereas Chen hailed from an impoverished home.
But Wu was touched by the unimpressive, bookish looking man who ultimately won her heart after he waited five hours for her at a train station.
In 1975, Wu upset her family by marrying Chen -- then a young lawyer who had to shoulder the financial responsibility for his family.
Wu had never worked in her entire life, yet they did manage to enjoy the good life for a while after Chen made a small fortune early in his career.
It was Wu's stubbornness, along with her strong sense of justice, that pushed Chen onto the political path.
Wu urged her husband to join the legal team defending the late DPP chairman Huang Hsin-Chieh (黃信介) when he was on trial for his involvement in the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident, a human rights rally
denounced by the KMT regime as a seditious demonstration and put down with force.
Since then, Chen's association with the democracy movement, and then with the DPP, has never been interrupted.
While Chen was behind bars for several months on trumped-up charges in 1986, Wu sought to complete her husband's unfinished mission. She was elected as a legislator that year.
She went on to help her husband become a lawmaker in 1989, Taipei mayor in 1994 and the nation's president two years ago.
Now that the worst moments have passed, Wu appears content with her life, and is especially looking forward to being a grandmother soon. Her daughter, Chen Hsing-yu (
"Wu cannot hide her happiness about being a grandmother. She likes to talk about the grandson because she is so delighted to be able to live to see the day to come," said a Presidential Office official.
Yet underneath her sunny, cheerful appearance, the official said there is a shadow of sadness that outsiders are not aware of.
"Although nobody says it, she has a feeling that she cannot live for long. For her remaining time, she'd like to go through all sorts of life experiences, if she can," the official added.
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