Human rights lawyer Chen Chun-han (陳俊翰), who passed away on Feb. 11 at the age of 40, on Tuesday received a posthumous presidential citation from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for his contributions to people with disabilities and his dedication to promoting fairness in Taiwan.
Tsai, who was accompanied by president-elect William Lai (賴清德) and vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), conferred the honor on a rainy morning at a public memorial service in Hsinchu City, where Chen grew up.
Tsai, after presenting the posthumous presidential citation to Chen’s father, lamented the passing of the late lawyer and human rights advocate as “a tremendous loss to Taiwanese society.”
Photo courtesy of the Democratic Progressive Party
“Chun-han’s brilliance will always stay in our hearts, and his aspirations will be entrusted to us to continue fulfilling... We will forever cherish your memory,” Tsai said.
Chen excelled academically despite having spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) since childhood, a neurodegenerative disease that limited his physical movements to the point were he could only move his eyes, mouth and one finger by the time of his death.
He had the top score in Taiwan’s bar exam in 2006 and obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Michigan in 2022.
After returning to Taiwan two years ago, he worked tirelessly to champion the rights of people with disabilities before passing away due to suspected cold-related complications.
One of his main appeals was for the National Health Insurance system to fully cover expensive SMA drugs for all people with SMA rather than provide coverage based on eligibility requirements.
Beyond proposing initiatives and participating in policy evaluations, Chen stood as a legislator-at-large candidate for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the Jan. 13 elections.
“Now, Chun-han should be free from pain, leaving behind the wheelchair and worries, soaring in the sky,” Lai said. “He might even be a shining star, radiating the brave, resilient light that guides everyone facing adversity to move forward courageously.”
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS