Taichung Prison denied a request by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is on medical parole after being convicted of corruption, to attend a memorial service last night.
The prison said it turned down Chen’s request because it would not be good for his health to attend a memorial service in Tainan for Tsai You-chuan (蔡有全), who once served as Chen’s national policy adviser.
Tsai, an independence advocate, died of a heart attack on May 4 at the age of 66.
The prison’s decision came a day after Chen attended an annual fundraising dinner held by the Ketagalan Foundation, a non-profit organization that he founded in 2003, on Friday in Taipei.
Taichung Prison, where Chen was incarcerated before being released on medical parole in 2015, gave the permission after Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s medical team suggested that such a “functional treatment in a social setting” would be beneficial for Chen’s medical condition.
The 66-year-old former president was allowed to attend the dinner on condition that he did not enter the main venue, but instead meet his friends in a side room; not give any speeches, discuss politics or speak to the media; and return to his home in Kaohsiung immediately after the dinner.
However, Chen did go to the main venue of the fundraiser and was seated at the main table.
He addressed the gathering in a five-minute, pre-recorded video, questioning whether it would hurt the government if he spoke in public.
After about an hour and a half, Chen left the venue, but he did not immediately return to Kaohsiung.
According to sources close to the Chen family, he went to New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) to meet several friends and might have stayed overnight because it was late.
In its statement on Saturday denying Chen’s latest request, Taichung Prison said that it would review the matter of his apparent contravention of the conditions of attendance at the dinner.
Chen is bound by the regulations detailed in the warrant he signed for medical parole on Jan. 5, 2015, the prison said.
Chen was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 20 years in prison shortly after leaving office in 2008.
He served six years of his sentence until January 2015, when he was released on medical parole due to various ailments and has since been living in Kaohsiung.
Last year, Chen was allowed to attend Ketagalan Foundation’s annual fundraising dinner, but was not allowed to mingle with the guests or make a speech.
Instead, he was greeted in a side room by those who attended the event.
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