Lawyer Chen Chun-han (陳俊翰), who the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had on its list of legislator-at-large candidates in the Jan. 13 elections, has died, the party said on Thursday.
He was 40.
The DPP said in a statement that Chen died on Sunday following suspected complications after a cold.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
His family did not announce his death until Thursday, as it was the Lunar New Year holiday, it said.
Chen, who had spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), was embroiled in controversy after Chinese journalist Wang Zhian (王志安) — who has lived in Japan since being blacklisted by Beijing — on Jan. 22 imitated his voice on The Night Night Show with Hello and accused the DPP of using his condition to elicit sympathy from voters in the buildup to the legislative elections.
Wang also drew criticism for using a term for disabled people considered derogatory in Taiwan.
Wang on Jan. 26 apologized to Chen, the talk show and the DPP in a livestream on YouTube.
Host Hello (賀瓏) and the production team also apologized to Chen.
Due to having SMA, Chen could only move his eyes, mouth and one finger. He had his legs amputated while at university after they were burned in a fire caused by an electric blanket.
He was connected to a ventilator at the time so was unable to call for help.
Chen studied law at National Taiwan University and received the highest score in Taiwan’s bar exams in 2006.
He went to Harvard University to study for a master’s in law in 2012, passed the New York State Bar exams in 2013 and got his advanced degree in 2014.
Despite being eligible to work as a lawyer in the US and having access to SMA drugs there, Chen returned to Taiwan to pursue a career as a human rights advocate.
“I was born and raised in Taiwan, and I wanted to do more for my country,” he said of his decision.
An advocate of rights for people with disabilities, Chen devoted himself to amending laws to make them more inclusive.
He said he hoped his efforts would help disabled people “achieve self-worth.”
Disabled people are entitled to pursue their dreams, he said.
He called for more support for disabled students on campuses, arguing that if a disabled person worked hard to be admitted, universities should provide more assistance and support to help them make the most of their studies.
Chen in 2022 obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Michigan and became a postdoctoral academic at Academia Sinica in May last year.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on Thursday offered their condolences after learning about Chen’s death.
Presidential Office spokesperson Olivia Lin (林聿禪) cited Tsai as saying that Chen was a “fighter.”
The government would continue working to promote rights for disabled people in honor of his legacy, she added.
Lai called Chen an “angel” and said he would be remembered forever.
On Facebook, Hello said that Chen’s resilience was “truly admirable” and thanked him for his “devotion to Taiwan.”
Wang on X offered his condolences and “sincere apologies.”
Wang wrote that he had been penning an apology for two weeks, but kept finding that amendments were needed.
It was “truly regrettable that I was not able to convey my apologies to Lawyer Chen,” he wrote.
He posted the unfinished apology letter on X and apologized again.
He added that he hopes to have the chance to inform more people about Chen’s efforts and achievements.
Saying sorry might not be sufficient to make up for the harm caused, Wang said, adding that he would donate ¥1 million (US$6,654) to the Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders.
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese
WARFARE: The PLA aims to use space-based capabilities to enhance its force projection to make the Indo-Pacific region too costly for the US to protect, experts said China is rapidly building space capabilities to be able to launch precision strikes on Taiwan, the US and its allies, US Space Force leaders said at a recent conference in London. China is developing counterspace warfare capabilities including GPS jamming systems and anti-satellite missiles at “breathtaking speed,” said General Stephen Whiting, commander of the US Space Command. In the past six years, Beijing tripled its number of dedicated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, while rapidly fielding dual-use satellites, Whiting said, adding that the capabilities are honed for detecting movements at sea. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might have already achieved substantial benefits