Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who remained in detention when he marked his 60th birthday on Wednesday, has not eaten anything for two days in protest against government incompetence and continued judicial persecution, Chen's office said yesterday.
“Former president Chen stopped eating two days ago. He wants to express his anger [at the government] even if it means death. He is very determined,” Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘), the secretary of Chen's office, said yesterday outside the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng, Taipei County.
Chen's daughter, Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤), later rushed to the detention center to visit her father, where she conveyed former first lady Wu Shu-jen's (吳淑珍) concerns about her husband's health on the couple's 34th wedding anniversary.
The former president's lawyer, Shih Yi-ling (石宜琳), later said Chen Shui-bian had been depressed over the past several days and had skipped lunch and exercise.
Shih, however, said the former president did not mention anything about fasting to death.
Lee Da-chu (李大竹), deputy head of the detention center, denied reports that Chen Shui-bian had skipped breakfast and lunch yesterday, saying he had finished his three meals on Thursday.
Lee said the center would pay extra attention to Chen Shui-bian's situation.
The former president conducted a 15-day hunger strike in November after being detained for the first time. He was sent to hospital for a check-up during his first fast.
Chen Shui-bian, who left office in May, has been detained on charges of embezzlement, taking bribes, money laundering, influence peddling and extortion. Wu, their son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and his wife, Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), and several of his former aides have also been charged with corruption and money-laundering.
Chen Chih-chung and Huang moved to Kaohsiung on Thursday to start a new life in the south. Chiang said the former president knew about their move and understood their decision.
Chen Chih-chung had said on Thursday that he would start looking for a job in Kaohsiung to support his family.
He said his mother would not be moving to his new residence anytime soon because of the difficulty in finding a caregiver.
Also See: Prosecutors quiz witnesses on
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS