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Chen¡¦s new life behind bars won¡¦t break
him
By Dan Bloom
Former president Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó), now identified in prison by his personal
identification number, 1020, might be looking at 17 years in jail, although it
could be whittled down to just 11 years behind bars. There is also the slim
possibility of a presidential pardon somewhere down the road by a future
Democratic Progressive Party president, perhaps as early as 2012.
For now, contemplating his fate, Chen sits in a cell in Taoyuan and is settling
into his jail routine. There¡¦s roll call each day and he¡¦ll have to answer the
guards when they ask him his name and ID number. At least three times a week,
there will be exercise outside in a guarded yard with fellow inmates, one
surmises, and a good soak or shower in a prison washroom twice a week, too.
Other than that, he will be a prisoner of his own thoughts in his own cell, and
there won¡¦t be any glimpses of sunrises or sunsets. Food will come in through a
metal slot in his cell three times a day. Good solid food, nutritious and
designed to keep his weight steady and his health, well, healthy.
Chen¡¦s 1.2 ping (3.96m2) cell will afford the former president time to read,
write and think. Like a monk in a Buddhist monastery, Chen will have a lot of
down time for deep, quiet contemplation, and he will undoubtedly spend most of
his days writing his memoirs and penning commentaries and broadsides about
politics and history.
There might be a book in a year published by his supporters and eventually there
might be enough to fill an entire bookshelf.
Former vice president Annette Lu (§f¨q½¬) has said Chen¡¦s imprisonment was a
tragedy for him, his family and Taiwan¡¦s democracy.
It is. However, the former president, from news reports and published
photographs, seems calm and reflective behind bars, and since it appears he has
nerves of steel and a strong, nimble mind, he will probably come out of jail
more or less the same man he is today.
He will not be broken. He will grow in jail. He will blossom and sprout new
wings. He will write his way out from the confining walls of his cell and fly
free as a bird in the wind. His personality and his instincts will carry him
through.
Perhaps the most embarrassing day ¡X and moment ¡X in Chen¡¦s life was on Friday
when he was transferred from the Taipei Detention Center to his new ¡§home¡¨ in
Taoyuan, where, like all incoming inmates, he had to go through a full-body
search, completely naked.
Standing before several prison guards and officials, Chen was likely forced to
stand up straight and bare himself to machines and men inside a walled-up
fortress that is not the ship of state he once captained, but a mighty reminder
that personal fortunes rise and fall just like the long ocean swells of the
Pacific.
Naked, Chen knew he had hit rock bottom, but he also knows that he will be free
one day, and that his life will go on, inexorably, towards the final curtain.
Dan Bloom is a freelance writer in Taiwan.
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