Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said he would consider visiting former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) if he is sent to a hospital in Taipei for treatment, after Taoyuan General Hospital suggested that Chen should be transferred to a major medical center for further check-ups.
Hau, who has expressed support for granting Chen medical parole, said yesterday that his stance on the issue had not changed, adding that a medical team should assess Chen’s condition.
In a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors applauded Hau for his support on the issue and called on the mayor to provide security for the former president if he is sent to a medical center in Taipei.
Photo: Hsiang Cheng-chen, Taipei Times
“Of course I will consider [visiting Chen if he is sent to a Taipei medical center]. It’s not my authority to decide whether Chen should receive medical treatment in Taipei, but if he is sent to a hospital in this city, I believe related agencies and the hospital would take care of his safety,” he said in response to a question from DPP Taipei City Councilor Tung Chung-yen (童仲彥).
DPP Taipei City councilors Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), Chuang Rui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) and Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘), among others, thanked Hau and said his proposal would help improve relations between the pan-blue and pan-green camps.
However, New Party Taipei City Councilor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) questioned Hau’s motives, alleging that the mayor had made the proposal for political gain, while acknowledging that Hau’s endorsement of Chen’s medical parole would boost his support.
“You are one of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] potential 2016 presidential candidates, and your next step after stepping down in 2014 is under great scrutiny. We all know that the endorsement will certainly make you popular among pan-green supporters,” she said.
Hau said his endorsement of Chen’s medical parole had nothing to do with the 2016 presidential elections.
Separately yesterday, human rights activists Hans Wahl and Harreld Dinkins visited Minster of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) at the -ministry, accompanied by DPP legislators Mark Chen (陳唐山) and Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財), as well as Taiwan Solidarity Union legislators Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) and Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉).
Jack Healey, director of the Washington-based Human Rights Action Center, who was scheduled to lead the group of visitors, said in a press statement that he was unable to attend the visit because he had the flu.
Wahl and Dinkins, who visited the former president at Taoyuan General Hospital on Monday, held a closed-door meeting with Tseng.
According to the ministry, the two human rights activists met Tseng to learn about the state of Chen Shui-bian’s health and the conditions of his imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Taoyuan General Hospital yesterday said it had arranged for Chen Shui-bian to undergo a neck ultrasound test and an eye exam.
On Friday, the hospital had found a 4mm-by-4mm trace of cerebral vascular trauma in his right frontal lobe, possibly indicating the former president had a minor stroke.
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who is a former Chang Guan Memorial Hospital doctor and who also visited the former president at the hospital, said during a political talk show on TV on Monday evening that there was not one, but seven or eight instances of cerebral vascular trauma, in Chen Shui-bian’s frontal lobe
Chen Shui-bian, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption, was sent to Taoyuan General Hospital last Wednesday night after complaining of pain when urinating and was admitted for extensive examinations.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS