20120602 Doctors say imprisoned Chen Shui-bian seriously ill as ROC alleges new charges

Doctors say imprisoned Chen Shui-bian seriously ill as ROC alleges new charges

http://www.examiner.com/article/doctors-say-imprisoned-chen-shui-bian-seriously-ill-as-roc-alleges-new-charges

Michael Richardson/Taiwan Policy Examiner

Chen Shui-bian, the imprisoned former President of the Republic of China in-exile, is seriously ill say two doctors who have examined Chen. Ma Ying-jeou, Chen’s successor, reinstated to a second term in office last week, has refused to grant a medical parole. Meanwhile, Barack Obama remains silent on Chen’s plight in spite of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the Taiwan Relations Act which govern the United States relationship to the people of Taiwan.

After considerable public protest over Chen’s lack of medical treatment the former leader was granted a six-hour hospital visit recently to conduct diagnostic tests following the announcement of new criminal charges against him. Chen, who was convicted of alleged corruption charges after a controversial trial, now is accused of holding on to some of his presidential papers when he left office. Chen had transferred a number of boxes of documents to his government-funded office for the stated purpose of writing memoirs.

Chen’s legal problems kept him from actually using his presidential papers and now he is forced to do his writing on the floor of his tiny cell. According to doctors, Chen has suffered injury to his knees from the cramped quarters and constantly being on the floor.

The quick six-hour hospital visit began at 6:00 a.m. amidst a phalanx of 170 guards. Details of Chen’s poor health have emerged from broadcast remarks of two examining physicians. Chen’s last hospital trip, in March for acute coronary syndrome, resulted in the disclosure that Chen had been given a psychiatric medication, lorazepan, for fourteen months without his knowledge.

Withdrawal from the potentially habit-forming drug may be further compromising Chen’s health as his condition spirals downward say the doctors.

Compounding Chen’s various ailments is the effect of stress said Dr. C.D. Kuo who outlined Chen’s confinement. The claustrophobia of the small space, 60 sq. ft. for two people, with no bed, no chair or table, a no- flush toilet, poor air circulation, and restricting Chen to 30 minutes outside each day had pushed the former ROC leader to his mental limit after 1250 days in close confinement.

In response, ROC prison authorities have increased Chen’s exercise period to 1 hour per day but maintain Chen’s medical condition is stable and is being adequately managed

Dr. Ko Wen-Je has said that Chen’s three prostate tumors may be hematomas but that only a biopsy could rule out cancer and said it was unacceptable to delay the testing.

The doctors found Chen’s heart to be enlarged with artery blockage at 40% and a cholesterol reading over 200. Chen suffers from stomach acid reflux and is frequently in distress and discomfort aggravated by the cramped conditions of his imprisonment.

Dr. Kuo expressed concern about Chen’s dark complexion despite limited sun exposure and his clammy, cold and sweaty skin. Dr. Kuo said more tests are needed to rule out a potentially fatal cold-shock condition. Both Dr. Ko and Dr. Kuo support a medical parole for Chen.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama has opted for silence on Chen Shui-bain’s prison conditions while praising Ma Ying-jeou’s reelection. Obama’s former Chief of Staff, William Daley, was Obama’s stand-in at Ma’s inauguration. When asked to comment on the inauguration, Daley told reporters he was having a good time.

The Obama administration has released a carefully worded statement on Chen’s trial in the State Department’s annual human rights report on Taiwan. The report stated: “The 2009 trial of former president Chen Shui-bain and his wife Wu Shu-jen heightened public scrutiny of preindictment and pretrial detention, prosecutorial leaks, other possible prosecutorial misconduct, and transparency in judicial procedures.”

The State Department was also critical of an attempt by the Republic of China in-exile government to censor Chen. The report said: “In June the Taipei Prison barred inmate and former president Chen Shui-bian from writing a special column for Next Magazine. The prison said its review had found Chen’s article to be politically provocative and therefore damaging to the prison’s reputation. The prison’s decision sparked criticism that Chen’s freedom of speech was being suppressed. Later the same month, the prison partially reversed its decision and allowed the magazine to publish Chen’s later articles.”

Ilena Ros-Lehtinen, Chair of the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also attended Ma’s inauguration ceremony. In talks afterwards, Ros-Lehtinen reminded Ma that the United States was Taiwan’s most important source of security. Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American, has expressed a fondness for the island as it reminds her of Cuba with its semi-tropical beauty.

In 2009, the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals declared the people of Taiwan “stateless” and said the island was caught in a “strategic ambiguity” imposed by the United States after the end of World War II. The federal appellate court said the people of Taiwan were trapped in “political purgatory.”

Confined in his tiny cell, the ailing Chen Shui-bian is facing his own purgatory.