A new bill has been introduced into the US Congress calling on the Taiwanese government to grant medical parole to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
“Chen has not been able to receive adequate medical treatment in accordance with his wishes, such as selecting either doctors or hospitals, and has not been able to have complete access to his medical records,” the bill says.
Sponsored by US Representative Robert Andrews, the bill urges medical parole “effective immediately.”
The bill says that since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) came to office in 2008, a large number of investigations and prosecutions have been brought against members of the Democratic Progressive Party administration.
“Most of these prosecutions were politically motivated, in an apparent pattern of political score-settling,” the bill says.
Earlier this month, the New York Times ran an article on Chen, saying that his time in power “vexed Beijing with his advocacy of Taiwanese independence and riveted Washington, which saw him both as democratic pioneer and mercurial troublemaker.”
It said if Ma showed leniency, he would anger Chen’s old KMT opponents, “but doing nothing has left him looking heartless and vulnerable to continuing criticism.”
“Taiwan authorities need to understand that Chen’s imprisonment is severely damaging the international image of Taiwan as a free and democratic nation,” Formosan Association for Public Affairs president Mark Kao (高龍榮) said.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
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
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
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