More than 100 supporters of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) marched through Taipei yesterday, highlighting their demand that the government uphold his human rights.
The protesters, led by a new activist group called the Taiwan Democratic Human Rights Platform, called for the government to grant Chen medical parole so he could receive treatment at home.
“Defend medical human rights, grant A-bian (阿扁) home medical treatment,” the demonstrators shouted as they carried green and white banners bearing messages that decried political prosecution, with a squad of tricycles carrying large flags leading the way.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The group said Chen’s deteriorating health should have warranted medical parole long ago and that the former president was being denied home care for political reasons.
Taipei Veterans General Hospital physician Kuo Cheng-deng (郭正典), a member of Chen’s volunteer medical team, was among the many demonstrators who wore handcuffs during the rally in protest of Chen’s incarceration.
At one point, the procession arrived in front of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters. Raising their handcuffed fists above their heads defiantly, in a gesture similar to one Chen made when he was first taken into custody in 2008, the demonstrators called on the DPP to live up to its pledge to fight for Chen’s medical parole.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The crowd congregated on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building in the evening, demanding that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) stop what they see as the political prosecution of his predecessor.
The parade was the final event in a series spanning the weekend.
A civic forum discussing the legal and medical aspects of Chen’s condition was held at Taipei’s Liberty Square on Friday night, while Saturday night featured an outdoor screening of the suspense-drama film Formosa Betrayed, followed by a candlelight vigil dedicated to Chen’s health.
Chen was taken into custody shortly after he left office in 2008. He is serving a 20-year term for accepting bribes during his eight-year presidency. Chen has been found guilty by the Supreme Court in four corruption cases.
Chen was transferred to a special medical zone of the prison hospital in June, after suffering from multiple complications, including severe depression, sleep apnea, non-typical Parkinson’s disease, a speech disorder and mild cerebral atrophy. He attempted suicide in prison last year, but was stopped by guards, reports from the Ministry of Justice said.
A recent poll conducted by the Taiwan Association for Pacific Ocean Development showed that 64 percent of respondents backed medical parole for Chen, while 23 percent were against the idea.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and