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
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS