To coincide with Mother’s Day on Sunday, former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) mother yesterday launched an appeal calling for justice for her son.
Sunday will mark Chen’s 529th day in custody following accusations of and later convictions on corruption, money laundering and graft charges, while calls for his release by groups loyal to the former president and by pro-independence organizations have been growing.
Protesters unhappy with last month’s ruling by the Taiwan High Court prolonging Chen’s detention for at least another two months will launch a protest in Taipei tomorrow.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
A number of DPP legislators are expected to take part in the protest, which organizers say could attract several hundred people, as well as members of Chen’s family, including his mother Chen Lee Shen (陳李慎), his son and two sisters.
The rally will begin on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office and then make its way to the legislature, where organizers plan a sit-in.
In a rare media interview yesterday, an emotional 82-year-old Chen Lee Shen said: “[I will] only be happy when [Chen Shui-bian] is able to say ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ to me in person.”
Several pro-independence organizations have criticized the continued detention of the former president, alleging judicial misconduct after his family last month tried to wire back an estimated NT$700 million (US$21 million) from their Swiss bank accounts in response to prosecution requests.
“Where is the justice? The entire justice system remains biased,” said Huang Shu-chun (黃淑純) of the Northern Taiwan Society.
Despite efforts to return the money, presiding judge Teng Chen-chiu (鄧振球) said last month that he believed the former president continued to be a flight risk, comments that have been staunchly denied by Chen Shui-bian’s lawyers.
Also voicing support for the ex-president’s release was the sister of Chen Wen-chen (陳文成), a Carnegie Mellon professor critical of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, who died under suspicious circumstances during a visit to Taiwan in 1981.
“Chen Wen-chen disappeared 29 years ago after being taken by the Taiwan Garrison Command — Chen Lee Shen also lost her son one night,” Chen Pao-yue (陳寶月) said.
“Taiwanese mothers need to stand together,” to prevent such things happening again, she said.
The former president was first detained on Nov. 12, 2008, and released on Dec. 13, 2008, following his indictment. He was detained again on Dec. 30, 2008, after the Taipei District Court approved a request by prosecutors to take him back into custody and he has remained in detention ever since.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the