Taiwan’s jailed ex-president Chen Shui-bian may soon be freed on medical parole: media reports
Medics and public back move to release Chen Shui-bian for treatment
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 30 December, 2014, 3:10pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 31 December, 2014, 2:16am
Mandy Zuo [email protected]
Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian may be released from prison on medical parole as soon as on Wednesday, media reports say. Photo: EPA
Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian moved a step closer to release from prison after a panel reached a consensus on medical parole after considering his physical and mental state, according to local media.
The Ministry of Justice said yesterday that it had not received an evaluation report from the 15-member medical team responsible for assessing Chen's health, the Central News Agency reported. But the ministry did not deny media reports that medical specialists agreed to recommend medical parole for Chen.
Major newspapers including the United Daily News reported that a panel assessing Chen's condition had unanimously recommended that he be granted parole because they believed his health problems could not be properly treated in jail.
The reports said he could be released on the last day of the year at the earliest.
Officials at Taichung Prison, where Chen is being held, were quoted by CNA as saying that an evaluation report was being compiled by the Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
The prison would deal with the matter in accordance with the results and recommendations, they said.
Chen, 64, has been serving a 20-year jail term for corruption since November 2010. He suffers from health conditions including a heart problem, severe depression and an incurable neurological disorder.
A feeble Chen appeared on television last week, trembling uncontrollably as he was visited in his cell in Taichung.
Cross-strait relations expert Yang Lixian, of the mainland-based Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the opposition Democratic Progressive Party's victory over the ruling Kuomintang in last month's local elections had given momentum to calls for Chen's parole.
"Whether Chen will simply rest after being released remains to be seen," Yang said.
DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai was quoted by the China Times as saying that the former president had no plans to engage in politics.
He said Chen's medical conditions would not allow him to take part in political activities.
A poll by the Taiwanese Association for Pacific Ocean Development in August found that more than 60 per cent of respondents believed Chen should be granted medical parole. A recent Apple Daily poll returned a similar result.
Chen began serving his sentence in November 2010, by which time he had already been detained for nearly two years while prosecutors investigated his case.
