Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is planning to attend a fundraising dinner for the Ketagalan Foundation in Taipei tonight, despite Taichung Prison advising against his attendance, Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), said, adding that his father would comply with all of the preconditions of his medical parole set by the judicial authority.
Although Taichung Prison said in a press release yesterday that it would be “inappropriate” for Chen Shui-bian to attend the fundraising event because of its political nature, Chen Chih-chung yesterday told media in Kaohsiung that his father “would definitely go to Taipei to attend the fundraising dinner held by the Ketagalan Foundation,” saying that the dinner was not a political event.
“He will do so, in order not to cause trouble for the judicial authorities. We see the matter as a medical issue, and it should not be mixed up with politics,” Chen Chih-chung said.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
In the same press statement, Taichung Prison said that Chen Shui-bian would be allowed to attend private gatherings with friends, under the conditions that the events be kept private, and that he should not get on stage, speak in public or talk to the media.
Asked to comment on the issue at an anti-drug conference in Taipei, Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said that he would support the prison authority’s decision, adding that “a fundraising dinner would certainly not be an appropriate place” for private meetings.
Unnamed prison officials also said that Chen Shui-bian should “be prepared to go back to prison if he violates the conditions of his medical parole.”
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
The Chens have been living in Kaohsiung since the former president was released from Taichung Prison on medical parole in January last year.
According to his family, Chen Shui-bian on Monday submitted a formal application to the prison seeking permission to attend the event to be held by the Ketagalan Foundation, of which he is a founding member.
The application also requested permission for Chen Shui-bian to return to his former residence in Taipei before returning to Kaohsiung on the same day.
Officials at Taichung Prison, which is under the Ministry of Justice’s Agency of Corrections, on Thursday decided to reject the former president’s request to attend the fundraising dinner, but said he was permitted to attend private gatherings.
Due to Chen Shui-bian’s insistence that he would attend the fundraising dinner, the prison yesterday relaxed his parole conditions.
It released a statement saying it would permit the former president to meet and speak with his old friends.
“It can be at a reserved private room at the fundraising dinner,” the statement said.
Taichung Prison deputy warden Su Kun-ming (蘇坤銘) said: “As long as Chen Shui-bian does not appear within the confines of the Ketagalan Foundation event — he could appear at an area nearby the dinner function, or at a place which is demarcated off the main event — then he would not be in violation of the conditions of his medical parole.”
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who was a former member of Chen Shui-bian’s medical team, said: “President Tsai Ing-wen [蔡英文] must feel troubled as I am.”
“It is very difficult to say whether Chen Shui-bian should attend, it is a tough question to answer,” Ko said.
Additional reporting by CNA
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS