The 58th Congress of Liberal International (LI) on Friday called on the Taiwanese government to grant medical parole to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said.
The DPP said in a press statement yesterday that because LI had expressed its concern over Chen’s deteriorating health, DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) asked the party’s director of International Affairs Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠) and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy deputy head Yang Huang Maysing (楊黃美幸) to attend the LI congress and present a presentation on Chen’s updated circumstances to the congress which has been running since Wednesday and is set to conclude today in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The DPP said that in a resolution passed by the congress on Friday, “it expresses its concern over the treatment of former president Chen which is gravely impacting his medical welfare and calls on the authorities to grant him medical parole to ensure that he receives the highest level of medical attention.”
The DPP is a member of the London-based Liberal International, a coalition of political parties from more than 60 countries.
Chen, serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption, was admitted to the Taipei Veterans General Hospital on Sept. 21 for a detailed examination in light of his declining health.
Hospital officials said recently that Chen is suffering from severe depression, adding that Chen has also developed a speech impediment, which might be linked to mental illness or cerebral degeneration, as well as problems with his prostate and sleep apnea — a sleeping disorder characterized by abnormal breathing.
Chen sought medical parole earlier this year when he was diagnosed with a narrowing of his coronary arteries, but the Ministry of Justice denied it on the grounds that he could access proper treatment in prison.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
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Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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