Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is suffering from acute coronary syndrome and will undergo cardiac catheterization today, the Taoyuan General Hospital said yesterday after Chen, on a temporary release from prison, underwent a medical checkup.
The Taipei Prison said it had agreed to a recommendation by the hospital that Chen undergo the operation and remain hospitalized for one week.
Escorted by police, Chen, who was not handcuffed, was transported in a prison van to the government hospital and arrived at 6:27am. He appeared fragile and walked unsteadily as he entered the hospital.
Photo: Reuters
Hospital spokesman Hsu Jin-chyr (徐錦池) said Chen underwent a colonoscopy, ultrasound of his liver, gall bladder, intestines, stomach, kidney and prostate, as well as an electrocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, a chest CT scan and an eye exam. The checkup was completed at about 3:30pm.
Chen is suffering from acute coronary syndrome — reduced blood flow to the heart — and the hospital had arranged for him to undergo cardiac catheterization, Hsu said. He confirmed that Chen would be allowed to stay in hospital for about one week.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) quoted hospital officials as saying that doctors had also found a small tumor — about 1cm — on Chen’s prostate.
Since the doctors had yet to determine whether the tumor was malignant, the hospital recommended that Chen receive medical treatment for his heart problem first.
Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), and daughter, Chen Hsin-yu (陳幸妤), accompanied him during the exam.
His mother, Chen Lee Shen (陳李慎), who lives in Greater Tainan, also visited her son at the hospital.
“My son looks miserable,” she said in tears. “If A-bian’s [Chen Shui-bian’s nickname] exam results are bad, I do not want to live.”
The former president had also asked that Taipei General Hospital vice president Kuo Chang-feng (郭長豐) accompany him during the exam.
After the checkup was over, Chen Chih-chung said his father was confined in his small cell — about 6.6m2 — 24 hours a day, unlike other prisoners, who could work eight hours a day in prison factories and were allowed to work outside their cell. Such treatment was bad for his father’s health, he said.
The prison claims the special treatment is for security concerns, Chen Chih-chung said, adding that this infringes on his father’s human rights, is inhumane and unfair.
Chen Chih-chung said he hoped his father would receive the same treatment as other prisoners.
The hospital checkup was arranged after former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) visited her husband on Thursday last week and said he looked very tired and had a swollen stomach.
She asked the prison to send her husband to a hospital that was unaffiliated with the prison for a complete checkup in light of a family history of liver cancer.
Chen is serving a 17-and-a-half-year prison term for corruption.
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
IMPORTS: Fifty-four million imported eggs with a value of more than NT$200 million had to be destroyed, mostly because they expired in storage facilities Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) last night announced that he would resign from his post. Local media on Sunday reported that Chen had resigned due to controversy over the ministry’s egg import program. Later that same evening, the Executive Yuan said that Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) had asked the minister to stay on to resolve the issue. Chen Chi-chung last night made public his decision to resign on Facebook, saying that this time he would not be dissuaded. Chen Chi-chung earlier yesterday apologized for the furor surrounding the egg import program, but added that misinformation had made the problems worse. The government was
AMPHIBIOUS EXERCISES: The defense ministry said that it had detected 24 Chinese PLA Air Force planes entering Taiwan’s air defense zone over the previous 24 hours Chinese movements around Taiwan were “abnormal,” Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday, flagging recent amphibious exercises in addition to drills Taipei has observed in China’s Fujian Province. Taiwan has reported a rise in Chinese military activity over the past week as dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships, have operated around the nation. “Our initial analysis is that they are doing joint drills in September, including land, sea, air and amphibious,” Chiu told reporters at the legislature in Taipei. The “recent enemy situation is quite abnormal,” he said. The comments followed a statement from the
RSS