After winning the election on Jan. 14, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he no longer faced the pressure of seeking re-election and pledged to leave a legacy in his second term. In view of the increasing calls for the Ma administration to address former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) confinement and his deteriorating health, the legacy Ma is seeking hopefully does not include the death of a former president as a result of human rights negligence.
Chen is serving a 17-and-a-half-year prison term on corruption charges, sharing a 1.3 ping (4.29m2) cell with another inmate at Taipei Prison. His mental and physical state has become a growing concern to many, prompting National Taiwan University physician Ko Wen-che (柯文哲) — along with a number of other medical professionals and Chen supporters — to initiate a signature drive requesting medical parole for Chen. Several US representatives have also urged the administration of US President Barack Obama to take up Chen’s case, and, last week, two US lawmakers submitted a medical report to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, calling for immediate medical parole for Chen.
The latest to express concern over Chen’s mental and health condition was Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財), who, on visiting Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) on Tuesday, made an appeal for Chen. Hsu said the former president had attempted suicide at least three times during his incarceration.
While Taipei Prison authorities were quick to dismiss Hsu’s remarks as an exaggeration, saying they have been keeping a close watch on Chen’s health and believe he is mentally and physically sound, many members of the public remain unconvinced, recalling how Chen at one time was given the psychiatric medication Ativan by the prison without his knowledge.
Ma takes pride in his administration’s efforts to protect human rights, saying it was under his watch that Taiwan signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2009. In April this year, while presenting a human rights report compiled by the Presidential Office’s human rights advisory panel, Ma again asserted his administration’s commitment to protecting human rights.
It is encouraging to see the head of state reiterating the importance of safeguarding human rights because Taiwan, as a young democracy, needs continuous efforts to consolidate its democracy, as well as to instill the importance of protecting these rights in every area of Taiwanese society. But how can Ma convince the public that his government is truly committed to protecting human rights when right under his nose there is a growing concern from people, both at home and abroad, over how a former president is being treated by his administration?
Instead of just paying lip service to protecting human rights, many are looking to Ma to exhibit the quality of a great leader that transcends the political divide. To soothe public concern over Chen’s condition in jail, as well as preserve Taiwan’s status as a rights-respecting country, Ma could, for example, initiate a meeting with Ko and his medical team and listen to their assessment of Chen’s mental and physical condition.
Such a move would not be deemed as interfering with the judiciary, as Ma has often said when it comes to legal matters, but as one demonstrating the basic respect and human concern that the president renders to a former head of state.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
RSS