Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) office yesterday dismissed a report that his daughter Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤) had attempted suicide last month after learning about a court order barring her from leaving the country.
The travel ban was imposed after she was questioned by prosecutors on June 22 about allegations of perjury. She had planned on traveling to the US to study.
The latest edition of the Chinese-language China Times Weekly said Chen Hsing-yu swallowed sleeping pills after learning about the court order. Her mother Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and her husband, Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘), called doctors to the house to give her emergency treatment, the magazine said.
Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘), Chen Shui-bian’s secretary, denied the report and said Chen Hsing-yu had not tried to commit suicide.
Chen Hsing-yu had filed a petition with the Taipei District Prosecutors Office appealing for a lifting of the overseas travel ban. Prosecutors rejected the appeal on June 30 on the grounds that she was required to stay in Taiwan to ensure the smooth progress of the investigation into alleged corruption by her parents, as well as to the perjury she has admitted to.
Asked to comment on the magazine story, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said she was skeptical about the report.
Lo said she sympathized with Chen Hsing-yu for losing her temper when approached by reporters but said Chen Hsing-yu should blame her father for causing her “tragedy.”
Chen Shui-bian, his wife, son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚) and 10 former presidential aides, associates and family members have been indicted by prosecutors on a range of charges, including money laundering, corruption and forgery.
Meanwhile, Wu was discharged from the Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital yesterday, one day after being hospitalized for low blood pressure.
Hospital vice superintendent Liu Chiung-kuan (劉景寬) said Wu has suffered bleeding caused by severe constipation that triggered the low blood pressure.
Chen Chih-chung said his mother’s condition had stabilized and she wanted to return home as soon as possible even though the hospital wanted her to stay longer. The hospital later agreed to discharge her.
Wu was paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a truck in an alleged assassination attempt in 1985 and has had to use a wheelchair since then.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND CNA
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS