Rational discussion and calm tempers are needed when discussing whether to grant former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) medical parole and the issue should be considered from a professional, instead of political, point of view, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
Addressing Chen’s issue in a lengthy post on his Facebook page, Ma said that medical parole for the former president is a legal and medical issue, and not a political one, and therefore should not be politicized.
Chen’s family members and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have urged the Ma administration to grant Chen medical parole, saying that the former president, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption, has become severely ill after he started serving time in Taipei Prison.
Ma wrote that the issue is not convoluted as it seems, but that it has become complicated after political factors came into play.
After inmates are granted medical parole, they may stay in hospital or their own home during the recuperation process and the freedom allotted them is very much like that of parolees, Ma said.
Commenting on the difference between medical parole and sending a prisoner to an outside hospital under armed escort, Ma said that an inmate visiting a hospital under armed escort is returned to prison after treatment to continue serving his or her sentence.
On the other hand, medical parole gives prisoners the freedom to visit a hospital for medical treatment or to rest at home without any prison officials overseeing their actions, and is usually reserved for those with serious health issues, Ma said.
It is because medical parole gives prisoners that previously suspended right of movement that it has set such a high standard, Ma said, adding that for prisoners to receive medical parole, their condition must be one that cannot be adequately treated by the prison’s medical staff, and even then the request has to be approved by the Ministry of Justice’s corrections agency.
Citing ministry statistics, Ma said that up to the end of last month, a total of 171 inmates had received medical parole, most of whom were unable to care for themselves.
Data showed that 44 percent of the 171 had late-stage cancer, while others included people who were half-paralyzed because of cerebrovascular diseases, needed breathing masks due to cardiopulmonary diseases, or suffered kidney or liver failure, he said.
Medical parole for Chen can only be considered when professional doctors examine him and they confirm that he needs better medical treatment than that available in prison, Ma wrote.
“If we do not have professional doctors confirm that Chen is indeed ill, it would be like giving Chen parole, which is illegal,” Ma said.
Separately yesterday, the ministry said if Chen does not meet the standards for medical parole, then political pressure should not be laid on the prison, asking it to disregard the law and give Chen medical bail.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS