A group of Academia Sinica members have signed a petition urging the Ministry of Justice to release former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) from prison on medical parole.
Along with the petition signed by 21 members with a professional medical background, a statement yesterday asked the ministry to respect medical reports from the Tri-Service General hospitals in Greater Taichung and Taipei, that concurred in saying that Chen should receive care at home.
Liao Yun-fan (廖運範), a professor of medicine and former chief resident doctor at National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital, said a patient’s well-being is a doctor’s foremost consideration.
Photo: CNA
“There should be no political interference. We do not want to see anyone being abused on medical grounds,” Liao said.
The statement cited Chen’s diagnostic report from doctors in May, which said: “The patient should be looked after around the clock by a caregiver... Removing the patient from prison for recuperation and treatment at home can better improve his condition.”
Liao said an NTU Hospital neurologist who saw recent video footage of Chen said that the former president had uncontrollable shaking and difficulty swallowing, which may lead to asphyxiation. The neurologist added that if Chen is not treated soon, he is at high risk of sudden death.
“The ministry had earlier said that they would respect the diagnosis by Tri-Service General Hospital. However, they have not yet done so, which is very disappointing,” Liao said.
Chen Ding-shinn (陳定信), a hepatitis specialist and former head of the NTU College of Medicine, also urged the ministry to respect the diagnoses and for Chen to be released as quickly as possible.
He and Liao led the petition, which was signed by 21 of 31 members of Academia Sinica. Other signatories include former presidents of the National Health Research Institute, Wu Cheng-wen (吳成文) and Wu Kun-yu (伍焜玉).
In response, Chen Shui-bian’s office released a statement to thank Academia Sinica for the petition.
“Our office urges the government to follow its laws, respect the medical profession, conform to the protection of human rights and promptly release former president Chen for him to receive care at home,” the statement said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2