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
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS