President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) often touts democracy as the nation’s greatest achievement and has been known to trumpet how he has helped to advance the nation’s democratic values and the protection of human rights by having ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2009 during his first term as president. However, actions speak louder than words.
Ma’s lack of humanity and respect for his predecessor has led some to wonder whether he truly keeps the meaning of “human rights” close to his heart and grasps the meaning embodied in the contents of the two international human rights covenants he has signed.
In view of the prison treatment of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), serving an 18-and-a-half-year prison term on corruption charges, which has resulted in various health issues ranging from sleep apnea, Parkinson’s symptoms and severe depression, a growing number of Taiwanese are starting to doubt whether the nation can pride itself as a democracy that values human rights.
As stated in the first clause of Article 10 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: “All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”
Chen’s deteriorating physical and mental state has prompted concern among human rights activists. Even Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has issued a public endorsement of Chen’s medical parole request, adding that he believes the move could help promote social harmony.
The judiciary’s repeated refusal to grant Chen medical parole has left many concerned about whether Chen’s medical rights are in jeopardy.
Chen, once known for his articulation, eloquence and quick-wittedness, was seen in 28 seconds of footage published by Next Magazine on Jan. 30 with a vacant expression, his right hand trembling and having difficulty speaking.
How can Ma say he and his administration remain determined to protect human rights when the public have witnessed the former president’s deterioated physical and mental state after less than five years’ imprisonment?
The recent clash between Taipei Veterans General Hospital, currently in charge of Chen’s medical treatment, and Chen Shun-sheng (陳順勝), a member of Chen’s voluntary civilian medical team, over the former president’s physical and mental state adds further intrigue, causing the public to wonder what the government is hiding about the true status of the former president’s condition.
“I deeply believe in equal justice for all Americans, whatever their station or former station. The law, whether human or divine, is no respecter of persons; but the law is a respecter of reality. The facts, as I see them, are that a former president of the United States, instead of enjoying equal treatment with any other citizen accused of violating the law, would be cruelly and excessively penalized either in preserving the presumption of his innocence or in obtaining a speedy determination of his guilt in order to repay a legal debt to society. During this long period of delay and potential litigation, ugly passions would again be aroused. And our people would again be polarized in their opinions. And the credibility of our free institutions of government would again be challenged at home and abroad,” then-US president Gerald Ford said in a speech on Sept. 8, 1974, on why he pardoned his predecessor, former US president Richard Nixon, for the offenses he committed.
While the Presidential Office has dismissed the possibility of Ma granting a pardon to Chen, it is hoped that, being the head of state, he would employ wisdom and a level of class befitting a president in dealing with Chen. That wisdom would benefit social harmony while upholding Chen’s basic human rights.
The White House’s decision to take a 9.9 percent stake in Intel Corp is looking like very shrewd business indeed. Since the government bought in at US$20.47 a share last August, the US chipmaker’s surging stock price has delivered the US a US$43 billion return. One of the reasons the investment has so far proved so sound is that the White House has made sure of it. According to The Wall Street Journal, Howard personally pushed deals on Intel’s behalf with some of the most lucrative clients imaginable. They include Nvidia Corp, the company at the heart of the AI
The Ministry of the Interior, working with the navy and coast guard, is organizing Taiwan’s first joint exercise simulating escort tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil through a Chinese blockade. The drills simulate fuel transport along three maritime corridors leading toward Japan, the Philippines and the US. Deputy Minister of the Interior Sawyer Mars (馬士元) said that a blockade of the Taiwan Strait would amount to “almost a 100 percent blockade of the regional energy supply.” Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo said planning to counter a blockade is standard practice in Taipei. While the exercise is limited in
A single photograph can cut through a lot of noise, but it can also be used to misrepresent the truth. At the very least, it can concentrate the mind on something that requires further investigation. On Monday last week, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation CEO Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) and former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) held a news conference in which they showed a photograph of former foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), now Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) deputy chairman. In the image Hsiao is seated next to Xiamen Taiwan Businessmen Association chairman Han Ying-huan (韓螢煥). The two men were holding
I first met Professor Ray Jiing (井迎瑞) as a film and documentary student at Shih Hsin University’s (SHU) Department of Radio Television and Film in 1988. The following year, he went on to become the director of the Chinese Taipei Film Archive — forerunner of the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI). Over his eight-year tenure, Jiing rescued and restored over 200 classic Taiwanese films. In 1997, he established the Graduate Institute of Studies in Documentary and Film Archiving at Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA), and I joined the program in his third cohort of students. Beyond a
RSS