Taipei, Dec. 28 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian recalled his own father while honoring seven models of "dutiful sons" in a ceremony held in Tainan County, southern Taiwan.
The president said that his father helped his wife Wu Shu-chen run for a legislative seat in 1985 when he himself was at the nadir of his political career. At the time, Chen had just been defeated in the Tainan County magistrate election and had been sentenced to jail for eight months for libel, and his wife Wu Shu-chen was paralyzed from the waist down in a traffic accident.
Wu succeeded in the election, but Chen's father was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and died four months after the election. Chen said his father didn't live long enough to see his son elected president.
The president lauded the establishment of the prize to honor the models of filial piety, saying that filial piety can improve harmony in society. He pointed out that the founder of the prize, business tycoon Wu Hsiou-chi, is himself a well-known dutiful son.
The 91-year-old Wu attended the ceremony in a wheelchair despite not feeling well. The president expressed his respect to Wu and wished him to get well soon.