Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday attended a concert in Kaohsiung inspired by letters he wrote to his mother and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), when he was in prison.
Chen, released on medical parole in January last year due to suspected Parkinson’s disease and brain atrophy after serving more than six years of a 20-year prison term for several corruption convictions, did not make any comments throughout the concert, as he was prohibited from issuing public statements or answering reporters’ questions.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), who also attended the concert, called on the public to stop harassing the former president.
Photo: CNA
The remarks followed a video that went viral on Saturday in which Chen Shui-bian was filmed taking a walk near his residence in Kaohsiung and trying to stop the man who shot the video.
The former president was recorded arguing with the man, later identified as a local baker, claiming infringement of his privacy and threatening to take the man to court.
The video rekindled debates about Chen Shui-bian’s medical parole and physical condition, with former Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), who served under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), saying it was apparent that Chen Shui-bian has regained his health, adding that the Ministry of Justice would be negligent if it did not put him back in jail.
Chen Chu yesterday said that Chen Shui-bian’s daily stroll around his residence was a necessary measure to prevent his medical condition from worsening, which should not be used to make false allegations about his health.
The city government had planned to increase Chen Shui-bian’s security detail when he moved to the city, but he rejected the plan to avoid unwanted accusations, she said.
The mayor said no one should stalk or film a patient, citing human rights and personal privacy, adding that such behavior would only divide Taiwanese society.
Chen Shui-bian’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), said the medical parole was granted by the ministry’s medical assessment board and experts from Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Taichung Veterans General Hospital, and called on the public not to politicize his father’s health condition.
Additional reporting by Ko Yu-hao
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