'Formosa Post' is everybody's newspaper: Ex-VP

“Many people in Washington D.C. got the impression that since Mr. Ma was elected by the Taiwanese people, his policies must be supported by the majority of the people here,” she said.

“Therefore, in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), the United States should not play any role in the Taiwan issue,” she added.

Yet, she contended that voice is not clearly heard in the U.S. at present, and vowed to include daily English briefs on Taiwan politics, the economy and social affairs in the “Formosa Post” to make the voice of the Taiwanese heard “clearly enough to the world.”

“The more Taiwan tilts toward China, the more potential problems and even crises can arise,” she forecast, before drawing a comparison between Taiwan and other democratic states in Central America.

“In the past decade, it was Taiwan who helped maintain democracy and liberty in Central America. With the exception of Mexico, all other countries located in Central America chose Taiwan to make friends [with] instead of China,” she said.

“In that way, Taiwan helped prevent communism from spreading in that area,” she added.

Please see FORMOSA on page

With the economic situation gradually deteriorating nationwide, she projected the Internet version of the “Formosa Post,” titled the “Formosa Telegram,” would be available starting July 1, as well as a weekly paper version for early subscribers.

The daily paper in print will appear on Oct. 25, the 63rd anniversary of Taiwan's retrocession to the Republic of China after 50 years of Japanese colonial rule, she explained.

Meanwhile, Lu said she plans to set in motion a “civilian journalism” movement to encourage people from all walks of life to report for her newspaper.

“Everybody is qualified to be a reporter,” she emphasized, welcoming contributions from scholars, students and the English-speaking public in general for various columns dedicated to international, financial and economic, and political affairs, as well as fortune-telling, sightseeing, health care and religion.

To set an example for her upcoming “I-reporters,” she announced the imminent release of a book on the “March 19 Shooting Incident,” during which she and President Chen Shui-bian survived an assassination attempt while they were campaigning in the southern city of Tainan on March 19, 2004, the day before Taiwan's presidential election.

“I read all the investigative reports,” she pointed out, stressing that her book will present for the first time her perception and analysis of the event, without going into details.

Her Chinese-language book is scheduled to be released islandwide on March 19.

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