Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is to apply to the Ministry of Justice for medical parole after his latest examination showed that his deteriorating state of health meets the criteria for medical parolees, his son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), said yesterday, even though the ministry on Monday had denied that his condition meets the requirements for such a parole.
Chen Chih-chung said his family made the decision after the Taichung Veterans General Hospital examined his father on Nov. 4.
Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) on Monday said that Chen Shui-bian does not qualify for medical parole. However, she said that he had three options.
Photo: CNA
Luo said Chen could file another appeal to the Taipei District Court or lodge an objection with the Taiwan High Court against the decision by the ministry’s Agency of Corrections in October to reject his parole request.
The corrections agency on Oct. 29 rejected the request for parole, and Chen filed an appeal with the Taipei District Court. The court dismissed his appeal on Nov. 26.
Luo also said that Chen Shui-bian could apply to be diagnosed by the corrections agency, which could then consider including physicians recommended by his family on the health exam team.
Chen Chih-chung said that the motions the ministry proposed “take time and we do not have much time to spare.”
“Another point is that all these motions might in the end be referred back to the ministry due to their politically sensitive nature anyway,” he added.
Taipei Veterans General Hospital physician Kuo Cheng-deng (郭正典) — a member of the former president’s volunteer medical team — said it is “utter nonsense” for the ministry to claim that Chen Shui-bian does not need medical parole because he “keeps a normal schedule, and is eating and drinking regularly.”
“You might as well ask the Taipei Veterans General Hospital to discharge all patients other than those in its intensive care unit and emergency room,” he said.
Kuo said the ministry was “lying” when it said that Taichung Prison is “capable of handling Chen Shui-bian’s health concerns,” because the facility does not have any medical staff and even the caretakers are not properly trained in medical care.
The Nov. 4 exam found that Chen Shui-bian had shown symptoms of choking, the cause of which could be neurodegeneration, Kuo said, adding that the choking could cause sudden death by suffocation.
Chen Shui-bian’s urinary incontinence has worsened and he suffers incontinence more than 80 times a day, Kuo said, adding that his other ailments include sleep apnea, which has persisted despite surgery for it, major depression and benign prostate hyperplasia — non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s branch in Greater Tainan yesterday held a press conference at which the former president’s 88-year-old mother, Chen Li Shen (陳李慎), called on the government to “let me be together with my son again.”
In tears, she said it has been heartbreaking for her to see her son emaciated and afflicted with all kinds of ailments after he was put behind bars.
“I’m afraid that I may never be with him again” if he does not get out soon, she said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS