US Representative Dan Lungren of the Republican Party has called on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and other House of Representatives members to investigate the imprisonment of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The Tom Lantos Humans Rights Commission is a bipartisan caucus in the US Congress aiming “to promote, defend and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms ... both within and outside of [the US] Congress, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments.”
Chen, serving a term of 17-and-a-half years on bribery and corruption charges, has complained of ailing health in recent months. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been calling for the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to allow Chen to be given prison leave long enough to visit a hospital and see a doctor.
Photo provided by the Taipei Photojournalists Association.
Chen suffered from acute coronary syndrome last month and was diagnosed with a prostate tumor.
Lungren had sent a letter to the co-chairmen of the commission, Democratic Representative Jim McGovern and Republican Representative Frank Wolf, calling on them to take note of worrying developments these past few weeks about Chen’s gradually worsening health.
The letter cited section 3301 of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), claiming a legal basis for the commission to look into Chen’s imprisonment because “The preservation and enhancement of the human rights of all the people on Taiwan are hereby reaffirmed as objectives of the United States,” adding that the commission should strongly encourage Taiwan’s government to let Chen receive adequate medical care outside prison.
Mark Kao (高龍榮), president of the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs, applauded the motion and called on the commission to inquire into the matter.
Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) was quoted by the Central News Agency as saying that the former president’s health has not deteriorated as his family members claimed, adding that his ministry would be closely monitoring Chen Shui-bian’s health and would pay close attention to his rights.
Chen Shui-bian is serving a sentence handed down by the High Court and everything would be done in accordance with the law, Chen Shou-huang said, adding that the former president’s incarceration was not a matter in which other nations were welcome to interfere.
As for Chen Shui-bian’s family calling on the Ma administration to grant him medical leave, Chen Shou-huang cited Article 58 of the Prison Act (監獄行刑法), saying that unless an inmate has contracted a disease that could not be adequately cared for in prison, and depending on the severity of the situation, the prison administration may contact the Agency of Corrections to apply to have the prisoner sent to a prison hospital or an outside hospital.
The Taipei Prison and the agency would decide whether to give Chen Shui-bian medical leave based on his physical health, Chen Shou-haung said.
Additional Reporting with CNA
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary