台湾的“民族败类”竞逐“总统”（美联社原文）

台湾一向直言不讳的女性副总统，曾被中国大陆官员称为“政治疯子”和“民族败类”的吕秀莲周二（6日）宣布，她将参加明年的台湾总统大选，成为台湾的第一位女性总统。
吕秀莲在台北举行的记者招待会上称，很多人建议我再竞选一次总统，以改写台湾的历史。但是吕秀莲赢得明年的台湾总统大选机会很小，很多观察家甚至怀疑她是否能在民进党党内初选中赢得成功，民进党已经有三位候选人宣布参加党内总统初选了，吕秀莲所面对的竞争也不小。
吕秀莲是一位热心的女权活动家，也是国民党执政期间的政治犯。她的政治生涯一直都是在为妇女争取平等权力为中心，她并不热衷于建立自己的政治基础。她的“台独”主张经常让北京方面极为恼怒，所以，一旦她当选为台湾总统，台海之间的紧张局势可能会再度上升。
吕秀莲当天宣布参选时发表了挑战北京神龛式的观点——台湾是中国不可分割的一部分——的言论：“台湾是一个太平洋岛国，并不是中国的附属。”台湾自国共内战之后便处于独立于中国大陆的政治体制之下，国民党在台湾统治，而共产党则统治整个中国大陆。北京方面坚持说，台海最终必须实现统一，不然台湾将面临一场毁灭性的战争。
已经年届62岁的吕秀莲一直是中国大陆官方媒体攻击的目标，她曾被大陆媒体冠以“疯狂的分裂分子”和“民族败类”。对这样的批评，吕秀莲不予理睬，称这样的批评“愚蠢之至”，也只会让她的事业获得更多的国际关注和同情。
吕秀莲当天表示，台湾面临是世界边缘化的危险，她的目标是让台湾赢得更大的全球角色。
吕秀莲说：“我需要更到的职位和更多的时间完成国家正常化和台湾全球化的最终目标。为了结束台湾悲悯的过去，为台湾人民创造威武和幸福，让我们团结奋斗吧。”当吕秀莲2000年与陈水扁成为台湾最高领导集体时，吕秀莲曾发誓，自己将成为一个付诸行动的副总统，而不做沉默的政治伙伴，不做陪衬的政治花瓶。
吕秀莲早年曾毕业于哈佛大学，她曾是一位积极的活动家，组织国际会议宣传自己的观点，其中包括亚洲各国如何建立自己类似“北约”的军事同盟。她对外交“软力量”深信不疑，并坚信台湾应该利用“民主、和平、博爱、科技”来与世界沟通。
吕秀莲曾做过律师和地方官员。她是台湾早期女权运动的领导人，曾为争取台湾在联合国的席位做过积极的努力。由于自己的民主和人权观点和社会活动，她曾在1979年被当局关进大牢，并台湾“军事戒严”期间坐了五年半的牢。吕秀莲发表了一场长达二十分钟的维护人权的讲演，这冒犯了台湾当时的独裁统治者，导致大多数民主运动领导人入狱。
2004年台湾总统选举投票前一天晚上，发生了一场枪击案，根据警察提供的信息，一位对总统不满的台湾民众对这陈水扁和吕秀莲开枪射击，吕秀莲膝部中弹，而陈水扁则是肚子中弹。警察称杀手在被缉拿归案受审之前已经自杀。
而反对党则坚持说，此次枪击案是有意安排的，目的是为了获得同情选票。
不过，台北大学的资深政治分析家江岷钦说，吕秀莲在民进党初选中便将落选。党内大多数民进党人士都不喜欢她，因为她常常是独来独往。江岷钦说：“吕秀莲有远大抱负，也有领导国家的才能，但是由于她从不让步的性格，很多人误会了她。由于非常自负，为澄清自己立场，她从来就不厌其烦。”
Taiwan’s “scum of the nation” runs for president
Taiwan‘s outspoken vice president, who China has called “insane” and the “scum of the nation,” said Tuesday she was campaigning to be the island‘s first female president. “Many people have advised me that I should fight another election battle, so as to write up another chapter in history,” Annette Lu said at a news conference in the capital, Taipei.
But Lu‘s chances of winning next year‘s elections are slim, and many doubt she has enough support to win her party‘s primary _ which already includes three other solid candidates.
Lu _ an ardent feminist and former political prisoner _ has long been a maverick who pushed for her own causes instead of building up a strong power base. She has repeatedly angered Beijing with her support for Taiwanese independence, and tensions with China would likely rise if she were elected.
On Tuesday, she again challenged Beijing‘s sacred view that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. “Taiwan is a Pacific country, not an affiliate of China,” she said. Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since the Communists won a civil war and took over the mainland in 1949. Beijing insists Taiwan must unify eventually or face a devastating war.
Lu, 62, has been a favorite target for China‘s state-run media, which have labeled her an “insane” splittist and the “scum of the nation.” She has shrugged off the criticism, calling it “silly” and saying it only helps draw more global attention and sympathy to her causes.
She said Tuesday that Taiwan was in danger of being marginalized in the world and her goal was to seek a bigger global role for the island.
“I need a higher position and we need more time to reach the ultimate goal of normalization of our country and the globalization of Taiwan,” Lu said. “Let us work together to end Taiwan‘s pathetic past and create prestige and happiness for the people.”
When Lu and President Chen Shui-bian were elected in 2000, she pledged that she would be an activist vice president _ not a silent political partner who stood in the corner like a flower vase.
The Harvard-educated Lu has organized international conferences and has floated her own ideas, such as how Asian nations should create their own version of NATO. She‘s also a big believer in “soft power” in diplomacy and believes Taiwan should use “democracy, peace, love and high technology” to deal with the world.
Lu has served as a lawmaker and a county leader. She was an early leader in Taiwan‘s feminist movement and she headed the campaign for Taiwan to get its own seat in the United Nations. As a democracy and rights activist, Lu was jailed in 1979 and served five and a half years when Taiwan was under martial law. Lu offended the island‘s authoritarian rulers by giving a 20-minute speech at a human rights rally that turned into a riot, leading to the jailing of most democracy movement leaders.
On the eve of the last presidential vote in 2004, Lu was shot in the knee and the president‘s stomach was grazed by a bullet that police said was fired by a disgruntled citizen. The man committed suicide before he could be arrested and questioned, police said.
The opposition alleged the shooting was staged to win sympathy votes. Political analyst Chiang Min-chin of Taipei University said Lu would likely lose her ruling Democratic Progressive Party‘s primary.
Most party members dislike her because she isn‘t a team player. “Lu has good vision and a blueprint for ruling the country,” Chiang said. “But many people have misunderstood her because of her uncompromising character. As a highly conceited person, she has never bothered to clarify her stance.”