Chen also cited his deteriorating physical condition, which included heartburn, asthma and arthritis.
“I have a heart condition. My heart aches at night and I have cold sweats, but I dare not talk about it,” he said hoarsely.
He said his lawyer told him that electrocardiography data showed he had problems in four places in his heart, but the detention center hadn’t informed him. At this point, he paused in silence, then sniffled and took out a tissue to wipe his nose.
Tsai gave Chen 30 minutes to speak. When his time was up, he put his head down on the table. Upon seeing this, Tsai asked Chen whether he was feeling unwell, then allowed him to rest in another room.
After Chen left the courtroom, his lawyers continued to speak in his defense and said the court should release him on bail so he could be hospitalized.
After about half an hour, Chen came back into the courtroom with his body shaking and his face pale. He had difficulty walking and had to be escorted by two bailiffs, one on each side. Seeing this, some of Chen’s supporters who had been watching the trial began to cry.
Chen continued to shake until Tsai said he would ask the detention center to keep an eye on his physical condition and adjourned the hearing, ordering that Chen be sent back to the detention center until further notice.
Outside the courthouse, Chen’s office secretary Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘) told reporters that Chen had been suffering from a heart condition, asthma, arthritis, deteriorating eyesight and other illnesses. He said the shaking was probably because of his heart problems and that they had not seen this happen before.
In response, Taipei Detention Center Deputy Director Lee Ta-chu (李大竹) said that the scan that Chen had referred to was performed when he refused to eat last November. Lee said they informed Chen of his results and Chen’s most recent scan last month showed no signs of illness.
After visiting Chen at the detention center later yesterday, Chen’s lawyer Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文龍) expressed regret over the decision not to grant his request to have Chen hospitalized.
At a separate setting yesterday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) urged the judiciary to treat Chen in a humane manner and respect his rights.
DPP Legislator Kao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said the DPP respected the law and understood the law should not be bent for anyone’s sake, including Chen, “but everyone, even Chen, is entitled to proper judicial rights.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華), however, said the court should continue to detain Chen because he might try to steal the thunder of DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during the party’s planned rally on May 17 if he were released.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING by JENNY W. HSU AND FLORA WANG
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