Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) sisters visited him yesterday in Taipei Detention Center, and said he remained confident about the legal fight to prove he is innocent of corruption charges.
Chen has been held at the center since Dec. 30, 2008, and the Taiwan High Court earlier this month extended his detention by another two months from Feb. 24.
Accompanied by the secretary of Chen’s office, Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘), Chen’s two sisters brought fruit and fish dishes for their brother.
“[Chen] is confident, and we will remain strong,” Chen’s sister Chen Shui-ching (陳秀金) said.
Chiang said the former president remained calm about the High Court’s decision to extend his detention, and spent the Lunar New Year holidays reading the book Michael Jackson Conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Chen’s son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) showed up at Kaohsiung’s Sanfeng Temple yesterday, accompanied by the Democratic Progressive Party’s Kaohsiung branch director, Chen Cheng-wen (陳政聞).
Chen Shui-ching would not comment on rumors that he intends to run in the Kaohsiung city councilor elections in December and said he was visiting the temple to pray for his father and family.
Both Chen Shui-bian and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were sentenced to life in prison on Sept. 11 last year by the Taipei District Court and fined NT$200 million (US$6.13 million) and NT$300 million respectively on several counts of corruption, including embezzling money from a discretionary state affairs fund and taking bribes from local businessmen.
The High Court has extended the former presdient’s detention on three occasions. The first was from Oct. 24. to Dec. 24 last year, and the second was from Dec. 24 to Feb. 24.
The Tourism Administration yesterday announced that it would reward repeat international visitors with incentives of up to NT$8,000 to boost inbound tourism. The incentives are available to all international tourists, it said, adding that repeat visitors would be rewarded with NT$5,000 and would receive an additional NT$3,000 if they bring travel companions. The nation received 2,990,657 inbound visitors during the first quarter, marking a 3.8 percent increase from the same period last year, agency data showed. Japanese nationals are among groups visiting Taiwan the most. About 1.48 million Japanese tourists arrived last year, a year-on-year increase of more than 12
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Taiwanese aviator Roger Lin (林睿哲) returned to Taiwan on Saturday after completing a nine-day round-the-world journey in a single-engine aircraft, becoming the first Taiwanese pilot to achieve the feat. Lin departed on June 5 from Los Angeles, California, and continued through Alaska, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Jordan, Norway, Iceland and Canada before landing at the Taipei International Airport (Songshan) via Los Angeles and Japan. Lin shared numerous photos and videos of his journey on a Facebook page titled “Pilot Roger’s Around the World Flight,” including a video showing his aircraft flying over the Danjiang Bridge and
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