The family of jailed former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged authorities to pay more attention to Chen’s health problems, in light of the fact that he has previously suffered a stroke.
Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), son of the former president, said a team of neurosurgeons and urologists from major medical centers should be allowed to examine his father.
“I’ve been told by doctors that people who have had a thrombotic stroke have a high chance of relapse within two to three years,” he said during a visit to Taoyuan General Hospital to see his father.
Photo: Li Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Chen Shui-bian, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption, was sent to Taoyuan General Hospital on Wednesday night after complaining of pain when urinating and was admitted for extensive examination.
A group of Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers and medical experts on Friday said that a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test earlier that day had found that the former president has a 4mm-by-4mm trace of a cerebral vascular trauma in his right frontal lobe.
The Ministry of Justice said in a statement released later that day that the MRI showed he has a 4mm clot in his right frontal lobe that was caused by brain ischemia — a type of stroke caused by insufficient blood flow to the brain — but it is unclear when the stroke occurred.
The hospital determined that the condition was unrelated to Chen Shui-bian’s headache and speech problems, the statement said, adding that his condition does not qualify him for medical parole.
Despite the ministry’s explanations, Chen’s family and supporters continued their calls for him to be released for medical reasons.
Chen Shui-bian underwent a urine test in the hospital yesterday morning and his son said that while doctors are still investigating the cause of his father’s urination problems, the more serious problem is the clot that was discovered.
Chen Shun-sheng (陳順勝), honorary vice president of Kaohsiung Chang Guan Memorial Hospital, called in to a TV political talk show on Friday night and said that considering Chen Shui-bian’s condition, the probability that he would suffer another stroke was high.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS