The Ministry of Justice said yesterday it did not give former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) special treatment by hospitalizing him on Saturday.
Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) told reporters during a visit to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus on Friday that whether Chen was allowed to seek medical help at a hospital escorted by law enforcement authorities depended on the assessment of doctors at the detention center and that she could not interfere in the case.
After Chen was hospitalized on Saturday, Wang made a few telephone calls to legislators to notify them of the matter.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
This, however, did not constitute political meddling with judicial affairs, as several pundits have alleged on TV talk shows, she said a statement issued by the ministry.
On Thursday, after appearing weak at a court hearing to decide whether his detention should be extended, Chen issued a statement saying he would not appeal any verdict in the case and would immediately dismiss his attorneys and stop calling witnesses.
He also said he would not eat or drink until next Sunday to show his support for the DPP rally scheduled for that day to protest the government’s China-leaning policies.
Chen has been on two hunger strikes since his incarceration, but ended them after his wife and family pleaded with him to start eating.
If the former president is physically able to appear in court on his next trial tomorrow, he could directly inform Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) of his decision to dismiss his lawyers.
Su Chih-cheng (蘇志誠), a top aide to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), and former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成), have been summoned for tomorrow’s session, where they will be questioned on their handling of the presidential “state affairs fund.”
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