Taipei Prison yesterday arranged for former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to undergo a follow-up medical exam and said that the results showed that Chen was in good health and that he only needs medical treatment in the prison, as opposed to medical parole.
Chen underwent a follow-up at Taoyuan General Hospital yesterday morning.
A group of Chen’s supporters gathered at the hospital lobby, shouting: “A-bian is innocent” when he arrived.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Hospital deputy superintendent Hsu Jin-chyr (徐錦池) led doctors from the departments of gastroenterology, cardiology, general chest medicine and urology to examine Chen, Taipei Prison deputy warden Su Ching-chun (蘇清俊) said, adding that Chen underwent an electrocardiogram, CT scan, MRI scan, echocardiogram, chest X-ray, endoscopic sedation and other checkups.
Hsu reported the results to Chen after the exams were completed, Su said. Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), and Chen Shui-bian’s doctor, Kuo Chang-feng (郭長豐), who oversaw the checkup, were also briefed, he added.
Su quoted Hsu as saying that the former president’s heart, chest and lung functions were normal. His gastroesophageal reflux disease has improved, cholesterol reading dropped and he suffers only a slight inflammation of his urology system, Hsu was quoted as saying.
Doctors have ordered that Chen Shui-bian to take medicine and have follow-ups about every four to eight weeks to cure the urology problem, Su said, adding that his physical condition is good and that he does not qualify for medical parole.
Chen Shui-bian, serving a 17-and-a-half-year prison term on corruption charges, was transported from Taipei Prison to the hospital at about 6am and was returned to the prison at 10:30am.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Hsu Chun-hsin (許忠信), who accompanied Chen Shui-bian to the hospital, however, said the former president’s physical and mental conditions were very feeble. Hsu expressed concern over Chen Shui-bian’s physical and mental health should he remain imprisoned.
Political parties and various rights groups in Taiwan and the US have called on the government to release the former president on humanitarian grounds, saying that his conditions in prison are contributing to his deteriorating health.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we