A headline of a story by the Associate Press described Vice President Annette Lu as "the scum of the nation," the phrase used by China. After the Presidential Office expressed concern, the headline was later changed to a more moderate tone that read "Lu seeks to be first Taiwan woman president."
Lu said that she would send a letter of protest to CNN and demand an apology or an interview in order to safeguard the country's dignity.
Lu formally announced her bid for next year's presidential election March 6, becoming the first Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate to officially register for the party's primary.
She made the announcement at the Grand Hotel, the Taipei landmark where the DPP was founded. Lu remained evasive, however, about whether she would continue Chen's "four noes and one without" pledge if elected.
On cross-strait relations, Lu said Taiwan and China had to end the resentment left by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party. "Taiwan and China are distant relatives and close neighbors. There should not be any hatred or war between the two countries," she said. (Source: Flora Wang and Ko Shiu-ling, Taipei Times . Mar 7, 2007)