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Ramsey Clark asks
government to free Chen Shui-bian after visit to prison
‘CLEARLY SUFFERING’: The former US
attorney-general said the former president was very ill and said Taiwanese
should demand he be released
By Rich Chang / Staff reporter
Former Democratic Progressive
Party legislator Chai Trong-rong, left, looks on yesterday as former US
attorney-general Ramsey Clark, second left, shakes hands with jailed former
president Chen Shui-bian’s supporters at the gate of Taipei Prison in Gueishan
Township, Taoyuan County.
Photo: Yu Juei-jen, Taipei Times
Former US attorney-general Ramsey Clark, a
longtime advocate for Taiwanese democracy, yesterday visited former president
Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in Taipei Prison and said that the government should
release Chen immediately.
Clark visited Chen in the afternoon, accompanied by former Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) and Chen’s son, Chen
Chih-chung (陳致中).
After the 80-minute visit, Clark left the prison and told hundreds of Chen
Shui-bian supporters that the former president’s health was deteriorating and
that he needed be freed immediately.
Taiwanese should stand up to support the release of Chen Shui-bian, he said.
Clark said Chen Shui-bian should receive appropriate medical treatment, as well
as his human rights. All people in Taiwan should call for Chen Shui-bian’s
release and only people power could make it happen, he said.
Hundreds of supporters cheered Clark’s remarks.
Clark also told reporters that the former president was clearly suffering and
very ill.
“I respect his courage. He has a strong will. He is upheld by people’s support
and I believe he will regain his strength after he is released,” Clark said.
He said Chen Shui-bian’s release would be good for Taiwanese and for all
political parties.
He added that a report on Chen Shui-bian’s situation would be submitted to
concerned US governmental departments and said he hoped President Ma Ying-jeou
(馬英九) would consider freeing the former leader.
Chen Shui-bian is serving a 17-and-a-half-year prison term on corruption
charges. During his incarceration, he has complained about several physical
ailments, including chest pains.
An internationally renowned defender of human rights, Clark flew to Taiwan in
1980 to express concerns over what came to be known as the Formosa Incident,
also known as the Kaohsiung Incident, during which riot police cracked down on
protesters calling for political rights.
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