Taichung Prison yesterday announced that it has banned former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) from attending events of a political nature after he breached agreements with the prison by taking the stage at a campaign event last week.
Chen on Saturday last week attended a rally in Kaohsiung for his son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), who is leading in opinion polls and is expected to be nominated by the Democratic Progressive Party as one of its Kaohsiung city councilor candidates for the nine-in-one local elections on Nov. 24.
Following a days-long investigation into Chen Shui-bian’s appearance at the campaign event, the prison has decided to no longer grant the former president’s applications to attend political events, Taichung Prison Deputy Warden Lee Chin-kuo (李進國) said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
He added that while Chen Shui-bian was goaded by supporters to take the stage, he still contravened the prison’s “four noes”: no taking the stage, no talking about politics, no speeches and no interviews.
The prison hopes that Chen Shui-bian will cherish his medical parole and abide by an affidavit he signed on Jan. 5, 2015, promising to obey rules for inmates on medical parole, Lee said.
He added that if Chen Shui-bian breaks the rules again, his parole would be terminated, regardless of his medical condition.
Chen Shui-bian had served more than six years of a 20-year sentence for corruption before his release on medical parole in 2015.
Even though the former president refrained from speaking and only hugged his son on stage, the event was politically charged, which could invite public criticism and jeopardize his safety, the prison said.
It is difficult for organizers of political events to control the crowd or schedule, the prison said, adding that due to Chen Shui-bian’s health, he sometimes stumbles when walking.
These factors could pose risks to his safety, which could invite criticism and compromise social harmony, it added.
Chen Chih-chung said that his father “had a bad feeling” that the prison might face pressure following the rally.
However, he quoted Chen Shui-bian as telling him that no matter how dire the situation, he would always strive to “remain a man of the people.”
Chen Chih-chung said he would always support his father and stand by his side.
Additional reporting by Ko Yo-hao
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In the case of a prolonged blockade by Iran, Taiwan would look to sources of LNG outside the Middle East, including Australia and the US Taiwan would not have to ration power due to a shortage of natural gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends into next month, Kung told lawmakers. Saying that 25 percent of Taiwan’s natural gas supplies are from Qatar, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) asked about the situation in light of the conflict. There would be “no problems” with
RSS