CLA chief visits dying father of one of the Hsichih Trio

Chairwoman of the Council of Labor Affairs, Chen Chu (陳菊), a long-time human rights advocate, voiced her hope yesterday that the new government could breathe new life into the nine-year-old Hsichih Trio case.

A senior member of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (台灣人權促進會), Chen is the first government official to have visited the dying father of Su Chien-ho (蘇建和), one of the three men on death row convicted for a double murder committed in 1991.

Su's father, Su Chuen-chang (蘇春長), who has bronchial cancer, was transferred to intensive care five days ago because of a blood clot in his lungs.

The hospital issued a danger notification to his family on Thursday.

Su Chien-ho was granted leave on Friday to see his father and has remained grief-stricken after the short visit, according to Su Yue-chen (蘇友辰), a volunteer lawyer for the men.

During her visit to the elder Su, Chen said she was dismayed by the Trio's situation and the torturous process they will have to endure before getting an "impartial" resolution to their case.

"We've seen a miscarriage of justice in this case under the former government. As a member of the new government, of course I hope the men get what they have always deserved -- an impartial process," Chen said.

The three men -- Su Chien-ho, Liu Bin-lang (劉秉郎) and Chuang Lin-hsun (莊林勳) -- have been on death row since 1995 for the 1991 murder of a couple living in Hsichih, Taipei County.