Taipei, March 1 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian praised the late founder of the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, well-known author Liu Hsia, in his weekly televised talk broadcast Saturday.
Chen said that he met Liu, better known by her pen name Hsin Lin-tzu, at a benefit concert featuring handicapped performers at the Presidential Office in August last year.
The writer, who was confined to a wheelchair because of rheumatoid arthritis, looked calm, happy and kind, although the president said he knew she did not feel well because of her chronic illness.
Liu's happy appearance belied the physical pain she suffered and inspired many physically challenged people to face up to the hardships of daily life, Chen said.
The writer named her foundation the Eden Foundation to stress eternal hope brought about by life, Chen went on.
The president said his wife Wu Shu-jen, who is paralyzed from the waist down, admired Liu greatly and believes the writer proved that there is hope as long as you make an effort.
Chen said Liu's memory will live on forever, like those of Chou Ta-guan, a teenager who succumbed after a long fight against cancer, and Chu Chung-hsiang, who was known for his fight against his own physical disabilities. "We will remember them not because of what wealth, power or beauty they might have possessed in their lifetimes, but because of the light and heat they gave out, and the hope they instilled in our minds," the president said. "Although we might not be able to control the exterior situation," the president encouraged his audience, "there is hope as long as we make the effort."