US Representative Dan Lungren of the Republican Party has called on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and other House of Representatives members to investigate the imprisonment of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The Tom Lantos Humans Rights Commission is a bipartisan caucus in the US Congress aiming “to promote, defend and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms ... both within and outside of [the US] Congress, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments.”
Chen, serving a term of 17-and-a-half years on bribery and corruption charges, has complained of ailing health in recent months. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been calling for the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to allow Chen to be given prison leave long enough to visit a hospital and see a doctor.
Photo provided by the Taipei Photojournalists Association.
Chen suffered from acute coronary syndrome last month and was diagnosed with a prostate tumor.
Lungren had sent a letter to the co-chairmen of the commission, Democratic Representative Jim McGovern and Republican Representative Frank Wolf, calling on them to take note of worrying developments these past few weeks about Chen’s gradually worsening health.
The letter cited section 3301 of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), claiming a legal basis for the commission to look into Chen’s imprisonment because “The preservation and enhancement of the human rights of all the people on Taiwan are hereby reaffirmed as objectives of the United States,” adding that the commission should strongly encourage Taiwan’s government to let Chen receive adequate medical care outside prison.
Mark Kao (高龍榮), president of the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs, applauded the motion and called on the commission to inquire into the matter.
Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) was quoted by the Central News Agency as saying that the former president’s health has not deteriorated as his family members claimed, adding that his ministry would be closely monitoring Chen Shui-bian’s health and would pay close attention to his rights.
Chen Shui-bian is serving a sentence handed down by the High Court and everything would be done in accordance with the law, Chen Shou-huang said, adding that the former president’s incarceration was not a matter in which other nations were welcome to interfere.
As for Chen Shui-bian’s family calling on the Ma administration to grant him medical leave, Chen Shou-huang cited Article 58 of the Prison Act (監獄行刑法), saying that unless an inmate has contracted a disease that could not be adequately cared for in prison, and depending on the severity of the situation, the prison administration may contact the Agency of Corrections to apply to have the prisoner sent to a prison hospital or an outside hospital.
The Taipei Prison and the agency would decide whether to give Chen Shui-bian medical leave based on his physical health, Chen Shou-haung said.
Additional Reporting with CNA
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS