On behalf of her husband, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) yesterday urged judicial authorities to grant Chen a release from prison for medical treatment.
Wu, who is subject to house arrest during her 17-and-a-half-year prison sentence because of bad health, said she did not rule out organizing a protest against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) if the release were not granted.
Wu, who lives in Greater Kaohsiung, visited Chen, who is also serving a 17-and-a-half-year prison sentence for corruption, at Taipei Prison yesterday. She said Chen’s deteriorating health was worrisome.
Wu said Chen appeared to have been suffering from exhaustion and liver problems since he was granted a release to go to the funeral of Wu’s mother in Tainan in January.
Noting the poor health of his mother and aging grandmother, who is 85 years old, the former president’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), said he would file a request to have Chen Shui-bian relocated to a prison in southern Taiwan so that it would be more convenient for his family to visit.
In related news yesterday, the former president wrote in his column published in a weekly magazine that former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) needed to take a hard look at her election loss.
The Jan. 14 presidential election was “winnable” for Tsai as early as eight months before the election and as late as two months before polling day, he said, adding that “everything the DPP had expected to happen, did not happen,” including its vote-share simulation, mobilization and the impact of its slogan: “Hakka girl for president.”
The DPP has been trying to appeal to swing voters, but “history has shown that mobilizing the DPP’s core support is the winning formula,” he said.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
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