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Intervene for Chen,
rights advocate urges US panel
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
A human rights advocate called for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the
US Congress to intervene in what he said is Taiwan¡¦s mistreatment of imprisoned
former president Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó).
¡§Using a prison system to kill an opponent is savage and ruthless. The present
government of Taiwan must not maim and kill using the slow and painful death by
neglect,¡¨ Jack Healy, founder of the Human Rights Action Center, wrote in an
article published by the Huffingtonpost.com yesterday.
Healy said the Taiwanese government has ignored Chen¡¦s basic human rights with
poor prison facilities and a refusal to provide Chen, whose prostate was found
earlier this week to have two tumors, with basic medical treatment.
Chen ¡§is at risk of dying in prison due to the Taiwanese government engaging in
willful medical neglect. He is about to die imprisoned by a government he ran
for years, because that government will not grant him the basic human right or
reasonable care,¡¨ he wrote.
The advocate urged the commission and the US government to intervene with public
statements and its strength to ¡§help this abused prisoner, even if he is guilty
of the corruption charges.¡¨
Chen is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence on bribery and corruption charges.
US Representative Dan Lungren last week had also sent a letter to the
commission¡¦s co-chairs, Representative Jim McGovern and Representative Frank
Wolf, calling on them to take note of recent developments in Chen¡¦s declining
health.
Additional reporting by Staff writer
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