Ranking member of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee US Representative Howard Berman has written to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to appeal for the medical parole of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
“Releasing Chen from prison on humanitarian grounds would allow him to receive the thorough, long-term medical treatment that he needs and would aid in his physical and mental recovery,” the letter says.
It was written as Berman, a Democrat from California, becomes increasingly involved in a bitter re-election battle with fellow Democratic US Representative Brad Sherman. Berman, 71, and Sherman, 57, are fighting for the same Los Angeles-area seat as a result of their separate districts being combined in a restructuring plan for the state’s political boundaries.
In what has become one of the highest-spending US House of Representatives races in the nation, the two veteran Congressmen almost came to blows during one recent debate and a sheriff’s deputy had to come between them.
According to one report, Sherman aggressively seized Berman by the shoulder as they discussed immigration and shouted into his face: “You want to get into this?”
Small and frail, Berman was clearly shaken. In an effort to win support from voter groups, Berman has turned to the large numbers of Taiwanese-Americans in the Los Angeles area. Over the past few years, he has regularly backed pro-Taiwanese issues before the Foreign Affairs Committee and taken time to speak at Taiwanese-American meetings.
The release of Chen on medical grounds is a popular issue with Taiwanese-Americans. In his letter to Ma, Berman mentions recent reports of Chen’s deteriorating health and says one should “consider the possibility of directly intervening in this matter, based on empathy and compassion.”
“Your action on behalf of Chen would be seen by the rest of the world as magnanimously transcending politics and could mitigate any tensions in Taiwan over this situation,” he wrote.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
RSS