The Taipei District Court yesterday announced it would continue to detain former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is currently hospitalized with several illnesses.
Taipei District Court spokesperson Huang Chun-ming (黃俊明) announced the decision late yesterday afternoon.
“The court has ruled to continue [Chen’s] detention because the reasons for his original detention still exist. The defendant’s [Chen] detention will be extended by two months, starting from May 26,” Huang said.
The reasons for Chen’s detention, as cited by the court, include the fear that Chen would collude with witnesses or try to abscond, and because Chen has been charged with serious crimes for which he could be sentenced to five years or more in prison if convicted.
After evaluating medical reports from the Banciao branch of Taipei County Hospital, where Chen is being treated, the district court said today’s hearing has been canceled.
Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) had scheduled today’s court date to summon 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) in the trial over Chen’s alleged embezzlement of the presidential “state affairs” fund.
The district court did not announce a new date.
The former president has been on hunger strike since Thursday after he returned to the Taipei Detention Center following his detention hearing. He appeared physically weak in court and later that day issued a statement saying he would not appeal any verdict in the case and would immediately dismiss his attorneys and stop calling witnesses.
Had he appeared in court today, Chen would have declared his decision to dismiss his lawyers directly to the judge, his lawyers said.
“He decided to dismiss his lawyers because he is very disappointed in the judicial system and he want to protest against the system,” said Shih Yi-ling (石宜琳), one of Chen’s attorneys.
“We will still urge him to be brave and face [the trial], because this is only the first trial and there are still second and third [trials] to come,” he said.
If Chen does dismiss his lawyers, the district court will arrange for a court-appointed attorney to represent him.
Chen has said he would not eat or drink until Sunday to show his support for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) rally scheduled for that day to protest the government’s China-leaning policies.
He has been on two hunger strikes since his incarceration, but ended them after his wife and family pleaded with him to start eating.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said she was “bored” by the former president’s hunger strikes.
“[He] has launched similar campaigns again and again. We all feel bored now. [This proves that] you cannot teach an old dog new tricks,” Lo said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS