|
Medical and legal
professions called to protect Chen Shui-bian¡¦s rights
April 23, 2013 By: Michael Richardson
http://www.examiner.com/article/medical-and-legal-professions-called-to-protect-chen-shui-bian-s-rights
Chen Shui-bian in happier days
visiting the United States
Credits: Getty Images
The recent pre-dawn transfer of ailing
Chen Shui-bian from a locked psychiatric unit at Veteran¡¦s Hospital in Taipei to
Taichung Prison against the medical advice of all of Chen¡¦s doctors has led to
calls on April 23 for the Taiwanese medical community and international legal
community to denounce the conditions of Chen¡¦s imprisonment. The forced move
caused the depressed Chen to attempt suicide by hanging from a doorknob with a
shirt around his neck.
Chen Shui-bian, former president of the Republic of China in-exile from 2000 to
2008, is serving a lengthy prison sentence for alleged corruption following a
conviction in a controversial no-jury trial. Many have charged that Chen is a
political prisoner, incarcerated because of his opposition to Ma Ying-jeou¡¦s
drift toward the People¡¦s Republic of China which claims Taiwan as a renegade
province. Chen¡¦s harsh prison treatment in a tiny punishment cell without even a
bed has broken his spirit and health. Chen has been confined in the hospital for
six months for several medical problems including severe depression and a
degenerative neurological illness.
Dr. Lai Chi-wan, chairman of the Taiwan Medical Accreditation Council, made a
public call on Taiwan¡¦s medical community to step forward and voice concern over
Chen Shui-bian¡¦s human rights to medical care. In an open letter published in
the Liberty Times today Dr. Lai stated his concerns.
¡§I would like to call on all medical professionals and associations in Taiwan to
stand up and tell Ministry of Justice and Ma Ying-jeou that you are angry with
their disrespect for human life and rule of law,¡¨ wrote Dr. Lai.
During the rushed transfer of Chen Shui-bian no treatment plan was developed for
the prison by Chen¡¦s doctors, as is standard procedure; and Chen¡¦s prescribed
medication was ignored by prison staff and left behind.
Dr. Lai explained why this is important and raises his concern:
¡§The patient must be given sufficient prescribed medicine to carry along. In
this way, we can be assured that any risks of medical accidents and delays could
be minimized. This is also an important metric for evaluating the quality of
patient safety and medical care as well as the professionalism of a hospital.¡¨
¡§I would like to call on all fellow medical professionals in Taiwan that we
shall not tolerate this "rogue" behavior of the Ministry of Justice to toss
aside professional medical opinions¡K. Professional medical opinion should not be
disregarded and medical human rights must be protected. Ma's government must
handle President Chen's medical care in a transparent and legal way,¡¨ concluded
Dr. Lai in his appeal.
Meanwhile, in the United States, a former attorney of Chen Shui-bian issued a
public call to the international legal community to raise alarm at the actions
of Ma Ying-jeou¡¦s administration. Jonathan Levy, an international litigator,
released a public statement condemning mistreatment of Chen:
¡§I am appealing to the international legal community to support the immediate
medical parole of Chen Shui-bian from prison. I am asking all legal
professionals to register their concern with the government of the Republic of
China (Taiwan) and the influential US representative organization in Taiwan, the
American Institute in Taiwan.¡¨
¡§President Chen was instrumental in bringing democracy to Taiwan which
languished under the Kuomintang dictatorship of Chiang Kai-shek and his cronies
for more than 40 years. Mr. Chen brought rule by civil society to Taiwan, he
deserves to be paroled and/or pardoned and his legacy honored,¡¨ said Levy.
¡§Mr. Chen and his wife survived assassination attempts but never abandoned their
dedication to democracy. When the Kuomintang again came to power, this time via
the ballot box, they wasted no time launching a legal vendetta against Mr. Chen
and his family,¡¨ said Levy. ¡§He was imprisoned for trumped up economic crimes
under the harshest conditions possible not befitting a man of his stature. Now
that he is gravely ill, he continues to be treated worse than a war criminal.¡¨
Levy concluded: ¡§A few days ago Mr. Chen attempted suicide. An immediate medical
parole must be provided by his jailers, the Kuomintang government of Taiwan.
Failure to do so indicates that the intentions of the Kuomintang government are
dishonorable and undemocratic.¡¨
|
