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One of the top stories from this past week involved the high court rejecting former President Chen Shui-bian’s appeal over his request for medical parole.
The high court announced the decision on Saturday. Chen was sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption and fined NT$250 million (about US$8.01 million) after he stepped down as president in 2008. He is now being held in a prison in central Taiwan and is said to be in declining health.
After serving more than six years in prison, Chen applied for medical parole for the first time in June this year. But the plea was rejected by the Ministry of Justice. Chen’s lawyer appealed to the high court about the ministry’s decision, but the appeal was rejected by the high court. The high court said that the ex-president should file for administrative litigation instead.
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Also this past week, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu said Friday that he will run for the chairmanship of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) but will not compete in the 2016 presidential race.
The KMT is scheduled to hold a vote on January 17 to elect a new chairman to replace President Ma Ying-jeou. Ma resigned as head of the party following its crushing defeat in recent local government elections.
In the elections, which were held last month, Chu was the only KMT candidate to win a mayoral seat in any of Taiwan's six major cities and counties. He is considered to be one of the most likely KMT presidential candidates for 2016.
But Chu said that he will serve his full term as mayor and will not run for president in 2016. He said the KMT may lose an election but must not lose a whole generation. Chu said the KMT should rebuild its core values in order to win back people’s trust. He said that as a KMT member, he cannot stand by after a major electoral defeat. He said that he hopes to help the party to get back on its feet.
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And finally this past week, a US congressional bill authorizing the sale of four decommissioned frigates to Taiwan is now ready to be signed into law by President Barack Obama.
The House of Representatives passed the Naval Vessel Transfer Act 2014 on Wednesday. The bill is identical with the one previously passed by the Senate.