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Taiwan Communiqué Published by: Formosan Association for Public Affairs 552 7th St. SE, Washington, D.C. 20003 Tel. (202) 547-3686 International edition, April / May 2013 Published 5 times a year 141 ISSN number: 1027-3999 Congressmen visit President Chen in jail On 2 May 2013, two prominent U.S. Congressmen, Mr. Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Mr. Eni Valeomavaega (D-Samoa) visited former President Chen in his cell in Pei-teh prison hospital Taichung, in central Taiwan. Chabot serves as the Chairman of the Subcommit- tee Asia & Pacific in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, while Valeomavaega is the Ranking Member. The visit came on the heels of Chen’s sudden transfer from the Veteran’s General Hospital in Taipei to the prison in Taichung on 19 April 2013 (see below). After the visit to Taichung, the Congressmen expressed concern about Chen’s health condition, and urged that Chen’s human rights should be respected. Chabot stated: “we think there is a humanitarian way to resolve the situation, and we would like to see that happen.” The visit came after several Photo: Liberty Times tumultuous weeks, which saw a groundswell of expressions of support for medical parole for Chen, both in Taiwan itself and overseas. This was supple- mented by medical reports from the team treating him at Taipei Veterans General Hospital TVGH), indicating that the best solution would be home care or treatment in a hospital near his home in Kaohsiung, which would have a specialized Congressmen Chabot and Faleomavaega after their psychiatry department. visit to Chen Shui-bian in Pei-teh Prison Hospital Taiwan Communiqué -2- April / May 2013 This led to the general expectation that the Ministry of Justice of the Ma government would grant a medical parole in the near future. However, without any advance notice to the family or medical staff, the Ministry of Justice transferred the former president to a prison hospital in Taichung on 19 April 2013. Below, we present a summary of developments and an overview of the expressions of concern. Sudden move from hospital to prison On 19 April 2013, before dawn on that day, former President Chen was awakened and transported to Pei-teh Prison Hospital in Taichung, where the authorities had prepared an area for him, where he would continue his detention. Photo: Taipei Times The former President had been under treatment at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH) since mid-September 2012, when he was hospi- talized for a series of serious medical ailments, including a severe depression. The deteriora- tion of his health had been brought about by the detention conditions in the Taipei Prison, where he was held until that time. The transfer to the Taichung prison prompted immediate protests, especially because of the way it was implemented by the Ministry of Justice: it was done before dawn without any prior notification to the family or consultation with the doctors treating former President Chen at the TVGH. According to one of the doctors, Dr. Ko Wen-tze, the former President Former President Chen Shui-bian was not even given an opportunity to bring being moved his medical prescriptions, and the prison authorities later had to return to TCGH to pick up the missing prescriptions. Another one of the doctors, Dr. Chou Yuan-hua, a psychiatrist and the attending physician at TVGH later stated to the press that he had not received any prior notification on the move, and strongly disagreed with the way it was implemented. According to people visiting the former President right after the transfer, the new location is certainly roomier than the old location, but it lacks adequate medical facilities: it is a Taiwan Communiqué -3- April / May 2013 poorly equipped prison clinic, and certainly does not have adequate facilities or staff to treat the former President. It reportedly does not have a permanent medical staff of its own, but doctors from nearby hospitals rotate in to take care of medical cases. The DPP Caucus in the Legislative Yuan also got into action right away: After the legislators learned of the sudden move by the Justice Ministry, They occupied the rostrum of the Legislature – which had scheduled a debate on the nuclear power issue – and prevented the proceedings, demanding that the justice minister come to the legislature to explain his actions. In the meantime, a group of about eight DPP legislators went to the Ministry of Justice, demanding to see the minister. When he did not appear, they walked up to his office and banged and kicked on the door. Later reports indicated he was hiding inside. Here is a commentary on the matter from the OpEd pages of the Taipei Times. Widespread calls for medical parole As stated earlier, since the beginning of March 2013, there had been an increasing chorus of voices calling for the release of Chen Shui-bian on medical parole as well as efforts by members of the US Congress to push for medical parole for the former President. In Taiwan, this was led by DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang and former DPP Chair Dr. Tsai Ing-wen, but also included the KMT Mayor of Taipei, Mr. Hau Lung-pin and resolutions adopted by 17 of the 23 city and country councils in Taiwan. In the United States, Congressman Robert Andrews (D- NJ) wrote a letter on 1 March 2013 to newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry, strongly urging the State Department to take a stance on the treatment of the former president. Mr. Andrews pointed to the deplorable condi- tions under which president Chen had been held previ- ously, and stated “there is reason to believe that Mr. Chen is receiving more severe treatment than the other prison- ers.” He said: “As the first elected leader from outside the Kuomintang, Mr. Chen and his Democratic Progressive Party broke the 50 year power stronghold and served as a major obstacle to the KMT’s unification efforts.” Congressman Robert Andrews (D-NJ) Taiwan Communiqué -4- April / May 2013 Mr. Andrews concluded that “I believe it is the duty of the State Department, on behalf of the United States, to address Mr. Chen’s plight.” However, on 14 March 2013 Mr. Andrews received a rather non-committal response from the State Department, only reiterating some basic information on Chen’s detention, and saying that that the American Institute in Taiwan would “continue to follow Mr. Chen’s medical treatment and his prison conditions upon his release from the hospital.” This prompted Congressman Andrews to fire off a second letter complaining about the “rather stand-offish wait-and-see attitude on behalf of the US institutions representing our country.” In the 19 April 2013 letter to Secretary John Kerry he stated “That a former head of state is treated in such a manner is clearly in violation of the values of democracy and human rights that we as a nation hold high.” He added that “…we must clearly express ourselves in favor of a medical parole on humanitarian grounds..” Congressman Andrews also urged the AIT and State Department “…to take a closer look at the legal case against the former president, and determine whether the procedures followed by the prosecution were above board, and whether the trial and judgment can be considered fair, objective and politically neutral.” At around the same time, Congressman Steve Chabot (R- OH), the chairman of the Asia & Pacific subcommittee in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also queried Sec- retary John Kerry on the matter: in a hearing in the full Committee on 18 April 2013, Mr. Chabot brought the issue of former President Chen’s incarceration, and stated that “To me, this smacks of the criminalization of politics.” Secretary responded that he would follow up on the issue, and see what he could do about it. A week later, at a 25 April 2013 Subcommittee hearing chaired by himself, Mr. Chabot announced that he would travel to Taiwan and hoped to visit Mr. Chen in jail. He said Mr. Chen had been incarcerated long enough, and Congressman Steve stated: “The humanitarian thing to do would be to let Chabot (R-OH) Chen go home …. Keeping him in prison for a day longer is unnecessary, wrongheaded and inhumane.” Then, on 2nd and 3rd of May 2013, Mr. Chabot visited Taiwan and travelled to Taichung to meet Mr. Chen in his new jail environment. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Taiwan Communiqué -5- April / May 2013 Whither Taiwan’s China policy? When the issue of Taiwan comes up in international forums, one can safely assume that the island’s relations with China are one of the major topics of discussion. At these events, comparisons are made between the policies of former Presidents Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, who both emphasized Taiwan’s separate identity and right to international space, and the policies of the current administration of President Ma Ying- jeou, who has followed a more China-friendly approach. Copyright: Taipei Times The major issue dividing the two approaches is what ulti- mate goal is envisioned for Taiwan’s future: Presidents Lee and Chen envisioned a free and democratic Taiwan, while President Ma’s long- term vision goes into the di- rection of ultimate unification of Taiwan with, he hopes, a democratic China. But China is showing no signs of democratization: Political talks: "See? All above board -- no under- there has been economic the-table deals here at all..." liberalization leading to strong economic growth and China’s rise as an international player, but this has not been accompanied by political liberalization or any basic shift in the direction of democracy.