Annette Lu - Rise in Politics

Rise in Politics

During the 1970s, Lu established herself as a prominent feminist advocate in Taiwan, which included writing of New Feminism or Xin Nüxing Zhuyi (新女性主義). She renounced her prior KMT membership, also joined the Tangwai movement, and worked on the staff of Formosa Magazine. Lu then became increasingly active in the tang-wai, the opposition movement calling for democracy and an end to authoritarian rule. In 1979 she delivered a 20-minute speech criticizing the government at an International Human Rights Day rally that later became known as the "Kaohsiung Incident." Following this rally, virtually the entire leadership of Taiwan's democracy movement, including Lu, was imprisoned. She was tried, found guilty of violent sedition, and sentenced by a military court to 12 years in prison. She was named by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience, and partly due to international pressure was released in 1985, after approximately five-and-a-half years in jail.

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.