Rise in politics
Lu was born in , in northern Taiwan. After graduating from Taipei First Girls' High School, she studied law at the National Taiwan University. Graduating in 1967, she went on to gain a master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and another degree from Harvard University. During the 1970s she established herself as a prominent advocate of feminist ideas in Taiwan, which included writing of ''New Feminism'' or ''Xin Nüxing Zhuyi'' . She renounced her prior KMT membership also joined the Tangwai movement and worked on the staff of ''''. Surviving in 1974, she spoke at the rally that precipitated the Kaohsiung Incident and was subsequently sentenced to 12 years for sedition. She served five years and four months before being given a medical parole due to thyroid cancer. Due to the male-dominated culture and combative nature of Taiwan politics, Lu, like several other female politicians subsequently, was nicknamed a "small chili pepper." She was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1993. In 1997 she won an election to be a magistrate in Taoyuan, replacing her predecessor, who was murdered.
Vice Presidency, 20002008
On March 18, 2000, Lu was Vice President. She was awarded the World Peace Corps Mission's World Peace Prize in 2001. Controversy erupted over this in Taiwan, with Lu's political opponents accusing her of vastly overstating the significance and value of that award. She was also the ROC's first elected vice president to adopt a Western first name.
In the months leading to the ROC presidential election, 2004 there was intense speculation as to whether she would be again chosen Chen's running mate, as party leaders had pressured him to choose someone else, presumably less controversial and outspoken to appeal to voters. But on December 11, 2003, Chen officially nominated Lu to run for a second term as he could not find a suitable partner.
Lu was a contender for the ; she announced her candidacy on March 6 and faced Yu Shyi-Kun , Frank Hsieh , and Su Tseng-Chang for the nomination.
After receiving only 6.16% of the votes cast in the DPP primary, Vice President Lu withdrew from the race.
Assassination attempt
On March 19, 2004, Lu was shot in the right kneecap during a campaign trip to . Chen was shot in the abdomen at the same event. Both survived the shooting and left Chi-mei Hospital on the same day. The Pan-Blue Coalition suggested that the shooting was not an assassination attempt but that it was staged to a self-inflicted wound in order to gain sympathy votes. The Chen/Lu ticket won the election on the following day with a 0.228% margin, a figure significant to those who related it the assassination incident.
After the election, she continued to make statements which contributed to a public impression that she was too conversational and tactless. In a June 2004 meeting with expatriates in San Francisco, she proposed to officially rename her country "Taiwan Republic of China" to pacify domestic disputes over Taiwan's identity. However, this drew heat from both sides, ranging from those who wanted to drop the "Republic of China" completely and those who pointed out that her proposal violated the . Lu was careful to state that this was just her personal opinion and not an official proposal. She drew more controversy after flooding in Taiwan, in which she made statements which were portrayed as an attack on Taiwanese aborigines for living in flood prone areas.
Political positions
She has been notably more outspoken in favor of Taiwan independence than President Chen Shui-bian, and as such has been more heavily attacked than Chen both by the government of the People's Republic of China as well as by supporters of Chinese reunification on Taiwan.
She has often appeared at odds with Chen, particularly in regard to . While Chen initially sent conciliatory signals, Lu has consistently made inflammatory comments to the media. Her confrontational remarks has led state newspapers in mainland China to accuse her of provoking "animosity between the people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits". PRC state media has also labeled Lu as "insane" and a "scum of the earth" in reportings.
Alleged charges
On September 21, 2007, Vice President Lu was indicted on charges of corruption by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office of Taiwan. Lu faces charges of embezzlement and of using false receipts to write-off expenses totalling over US$165,000 from a special governmental account. Yu Shyi-Kun was also indicted on the same day and immediately resigned his chairmanship of the Democratic Progressive Party, he promised he would resign if indicted. On the same day, DPP member and National Security Office Secretary-General Mark Chen was also indicted on corruption charges.
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