The government must grant medical parole to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), not only for the sake of protecting his rights, but for the sake of social stability, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
“Since former president Chen Shui-bian’s health is failing, the DPP calls on President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] to respect the assessments of medical professionals and grant him medical parole, so he may receive appropriate treatment at home,” DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said yesterday. “By granting Chen medical parole, Ma would be acting in accordance with the two international human rights covenants that he signed, and which the legislature adopted as law.”
Huang said DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is extremely concerned about Chen, especially after staff at Taipei Veterans’ General Hospital and other medical professionals who have examined the former president concluded that he is no longer fit to stay in prison.
Tsai has told the DPP to provide any assistance that will facilitate Chen’s medical parole, Huang said.
All newly elected or re-elected DPP city and county officials backed the party leadership’s call.
“Chen, in such a vulnerable condition, should be allowed to go home,” Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) said at DPP headquarters after a Central Standing Committee meeting. “I hope that Ma changes his mind, for the harmony, solidarity and development of Taiwan.”
Taoyuan City mayor-elect Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) agreed, saying that, for human rights reasons, Chen should be granted medical parole.
Meanwhile, eight psychiatrists — including the head of Mackay Memorial Hospital’s psychiatry department in Hsinchu, Wu Yi-cheng (吳易澄), and Wanfang Hospital’s Billy Pan (潘建志) — launched a petition urging Chen’s release yesterday. As of press time, the motion had been endorsed by nearly 500 people.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also supported granting “A-bian” medical parole.
“Granting medical parole to former president Chen would certainly facilitate the reconciliation of the pan-blue and pan-green camps,” Hau told reporters at a public event at Taipei City Hall.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS