Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen’s (蘇治芬) hunger strike in protest against her indictment for corruption entered its fifth day yesterday. Her husband, retired National Taiwan University professor Huang Wu-hsiung (黃武雄), visited her at the hospital and urged her to take medication for stomach cramps.
Saying that his wife had shouldered the heavy cross of democracy and defended it with her life, Huang added he had told his wife to unload that cross and take care of her health. He said that Su only agreed to take the cramp medication after he brought out a photograph of their son.
Su, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), began her hunger strike on Tuesday, shortly after being detained over her alleged involvement in corruption connected to the construction of a county landfill project.
Prosecutors offered to release her on NT$6 million (US$183,000) bail on Wednesday, but she refused, saying that she did not have that kind of money.
“I told her to open her mouth — it was our son who was feeding her, and she obliged,” said Huang, who is suffering from two types of cancer. “I told her ‘be calm, be calm, don’t resist anymore.’”
Su would guard her reputation with her life and not eat anything until her innocence was proven, Huang said.
Huang said Su had told him in a weak voice that she was innocent.
The increasingly frail Su was rushed to the hospital from Yunlin County’s Prison Detention House on Friday after her refusal to eat caused her health to deteriorate.
After visiting Su in the hospital yesterday with a letter from former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) told Su’s supporters outside that the commissioner’s physical condition was not good.
To prevent the hospital from injecting glucose into her blood while she was asleep, Su had fought to stay awake, Chen said, adding that Su’s blood sugar level had plummeted to 58mg/dL, while the normal level on an empty stomach is 70mg/dL to 110mg/dL, and 120mg/dL after eating.
Chen said that as Su valued her reputation more than her life, and as a compatriot in her cause, she could not ask Su to eat.
Other DPP members, including former DPP chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德), also visited Su.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
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