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Clark calls for A-bian’s immediate
release
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former US attorney-general Ramsey
Clark, wearing blazer, supports jailed former president Chen Shui-bian’s son
Chen Chih-chung as he raises his fist outside the @Bian Restaurant in Greater
Kaohsiung’s Sanmin District yesterday.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
The “dangerous game” of keeping imprisoned
former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) from access to appropriate medical care
has been played for “too long and too far,” former US attorney-general Ramsey
Clark said yesterday in Taipei, calling for Chen’s immediate release and
international attention to his situation.
Clark, who is in Taiwan on a four-day visit, told a press conference yesterday
evening that Taiwanese need to exercise their power and make their support of
Chen heard, while the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva should pay attention to
Chen’s case and do its duty.
Chen 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.
Chen was of clear mind and expression, but was “obviously weak” and was kept in
a condition which would further undermine his health, Clark said of his one-hour
meeting with the former president on Monday afternoon.
There was no reason for making Chen sleep and eat on the floor and live in a
space that is less than 2m2, Clark said.
“And there is no time to be playing games with fundamental human rights,” he
added.
Earlier yesterday, Clark visited Greater Kaohsiung, where he met Chen’s wife, Wu
Shu-jen (吳淑珍), and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊).
He said there would not be peace and harmony in Taiwanese society before Chen’s
human rights are respected, as most Taiwanese people found the way the
administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is treating Chen unacceptable.
Anyone could tell from Wu’s worried face that she is concerned for her husband’s
health even more than her own, he said.
Clark added that Chen could have been put under house arrest, as he would have
received better treatment and it would have been a better environment for his
health, as the possibility of Chen escaping is extremely low.
Clark attended a dinner banquet after the press conference, where hundreds of
guests paid tribute to the former US official who fought for Taiwan’s democratic
movement and its struggle for freedom.
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.
Clark is scheduled to visit the Ministry of Justice and to meet with Minister of
Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) today, before concluding his four-day trip tomorrow.
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