Taiwan Vice President Says Her China Policy Would Use a Feminist Approach
    The Associated Press

    Thursday 29 March 2007

    Taipei, Taiwan - Vice President Annette Lu said Thursday that if she becomes Taiwan's next president she will use feminism to ease decades of tensions with nearby China, the island's main security threat.

    Lu, the outspoken target of scathing criticism from Beijing, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that the rivals should treat each other like "relatives and neighbors."

    She said she would craft a feminism-based China policy emphasizing respect, cooperation and love, rather than competition and conflict.

    "The idea of feminism is not an idea to compete or to take over others," said Lu, who hopes to receive her party's nomination in May and win next year's general election.

    "Perhaps the leaders on both sides (Taiwan and China) can meet, shake hands and discuss an innovative approach to solve the problem. And I think I am one of them," Lu, 62, said in the hour-long interview in the Presidential Office.

    Lu has had a rocky relationship with Beijing since she and President Chen Shui-bian were first elected in 2000. Both have refused to endorse the mainland Chinese Communist leadership's belief that Taiwan must unify with China.

    Chen and Lu have said Taiwan's 23 million people should determine the future of the self-governing, democratic island - a view China rejects.

    Taiwan has been resisting Communist rule since 1949, when Mao Zedong's guerrilla forces defeated Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist troops and took control of the mainland. Chiang retreated to Taiwan, and Beijing has repeatedly threatened to use its massive military to unify the two sides - separated by the 160-kilometer-wide (100-mile-wide) Taiwan Strait.

    Lu said it is time for a new generation of leaders to dump the historical baggage left by Mao and Chiang.

    "Both Mr. Mao and Mr. Chiang have left the Earth," she said. "Let the people on Earth solve the problem with our new vision and new approaches."

    The vice president also said the concept of "independence versus unification" is outdated and unhelpful when trying to improve relations. She said the two sides should focus more on peaceful coexistence, economic cooperation and co-prosperity.

    Just before Lu took office, China's state-run media bashed her in a series of articles that accused her of "harboring evil intentions," and of being a "lunatic" and the "scum of the nation."

    At the time, Lu shrugged off the insults. She said Thursday that she hadn't faced such criticism in the past few years, and that she believed there was a good chance for reconciliation.

    "In the near future, the Chinese leaders will reconsider our proposal," she said.

    The Taiwanese often debate whether China should treat the island as an equal or a subordinate.

    Lu said that when she called the two sides "relatives," it could mean they are "cousins."

    Or, she said, "Why not say 'big sister, little sister?' We can discuss that."

    Lu is competing against three other candidates for the presidential nomination of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which will choose a candidate using a combination of opinion polls and internal consultations.

    Many think Lu is a dark horse, but she insists she had a good chancing of winning the nomination because she is the most experienced candidate.

    Although Lu has harshly criticized China's human rights record, she supported Beijing's Olympics bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

    "By hosting the Olympic Games, the Chinese leaders should bear in mind they must maintain peace. They must respect human rights," she said.

    Lu said it would be good for the entire region if China evolved into a peaceful democracy.

    She ended the interview by saying, "I never wanted to see China collapse or bad things to happen. I wish them the best, and hope they also wish Taiwan the best."