Ten Taiwanese-American organizations are pleading with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to release former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) this week on the sixth anniversary of his imprisonment.
They want Chen to be granted medical parole so he can receive adequate treatment at home for his deteriorating health.
“Chen’s physical and psychological health have declined steadily over the years, culminating in several suicide attempts due to severe depression,” the organizations wrote in a letter to Ma.
“Attending doctors from Veterans Hospital in [Greater] Taichung and medical experts at the Academia Sinica recommended this past summer that Chen be released from jail on medical parole,” they wrote.
Ma has been “totally unresponsive” to international calls for Chen’s parole, the groups added.
Additionally, some accusations against Chen have been found to have no merit, they wrote.
For example, the letter said that two months ago, the Republic Of China Special Investigation Division said it had found no evidence of money laundering in the so-called “Palau Affair.”
“Chen was also recently found not guilty of misusing the State Affairs Fund and embezzling funds used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct diplomacy,” it added.
The former president’s physical and psychological deterioration is an ongoing human rights nightmare for Chen and for the nation, Formosan Association for Public Affairs president Mark Kao (高龍榮) said.
“Taiwanese authorities need to understand that Chen’s imprisonment is severely damaging the international image of Taiwan as a free and democratic nation,” Kao said.
The groups signing the letter are: Formosan Association for Public Affairs; Formosan Association for Human Rights; Taiwanese Presbyterian Church of Greater Washington; North America Taiwanese Women’s Association; Professor Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation; San Diego Taiwan Center; Taiwanese American Foundation of San Diego; Taiwanese Association of America; World Federation of Taiwanese Associations and World Taiwanese Congress.
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