Having to give red packets to do business during the Chen administration was a open secret to the business community during those years. People accepted it. I suggest starting with them for any investigations. Lee Teng-hui lives in a very, very nice house. A house one would not expect a government official to be able to afford on a government salary. I suppose one could say that Chen Shui-bian was targeted, in the same way that Zhou Yongkang was targeted. I, for one, am glad that the ROC will go after bad officials. I wish we would try Bush and Cheney for warcrimes.
Same can be said of a certain family with the last name Lien, who have never been popularly elected to anything, ever.
Aye. My grandfather worked in government his entire life but never joined the KMT. “Too many meetings,” was his response to not joining.
Maybe you aren’t so bad afterall.
That made me laugh - I thought it was just me being crotchety. My Chinese is reasonable and I often find myself listening to interminable rambling conversations (in meetings etc) about something that might take a matter of seconds in English. It appears to me that 80% of the time is spent on Person A saying: “so, you mean XYZ?”, and person B saying “no, I mean IJK”, repeated at least half-a-dozen times until eventually A accurately understands what B is trying to convey.[/quote]
It’s probably about Mandarin being to complicated for the average Taiwanese/Chinese, if they don’t know the context they just ramble on about anything.
In Taiwanese I often hear people stuttering a lot … so much for having an understandable conversation. :ohreally:
Reminds me of all the talk about pardoning Mark Whalberg for hate crimes he did when he was young. Why? Because he’s famous now![/quote]
what? Marky Mark was racist?
Your last sentence (italics added by me for emphasis) is not fair, in my opinion. I can’t judge prison conditions worldwide, but Taiwan is not a serious human rights violator. Does the USA even have medical leave for prisoners? In the USA, people routinely die in prison while serving sentences for trivial offenses. An unpaid traffic fine gets you imprisoned, raped in the ass, beaten, and stabbed. A friend of mine is a an emergency room doctor at a major hospital here in Taitung, and he says that prisoners are routinely brought in (I’ve witnessed it myself) for tests when showing signs of illness, and that the guards actually do seem concerned about the prisoner’s health. In America, I hear tales of prisoners dying in their cells because they are denied medication that they need to take regularly, and are almost never brought to a doctor until they’re near death.
I wouldn’t want to be in prison anywhere, but if I had to choose between serving a sentence in Taiwan vs the USA, I’d go with Taiwan.
As for whether or not Chen should be released, that’s another story. I actually think he’s served enough time for corruption and should be released, regardless of his medical condition.
[quote=“Dog’s_Breakfast”]
I wouldn’t want to be in prison anywhere, but if I had to choose between serving a sentence in Taiwan vs the USA, I’d go with Taiwan…[/quote]
It was reported that in Chen’s pillow they found 300 ants. Also there is a CCtV aiming directly at the toilet.
Check out the amentiy in the presidential suite, for two guests.
At least a wooden floor. What a disgrace.
Actually, THIS is the president’s digs:
taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ … 2003560338
He was transferred from Taipei Prison in 2013 and is serving the remainder of his term in Taichung. He is receiving special treatment now. In Taipei, he was treated like all other prisoners. Also, despite the report from the international observers/visitors stating that Chen’s health had deteriorated while he was in Taipei Prison, the report also mentioned that the “prisons generally met international standards, and authorities permitted visits by independent human rights observers.”
The problem is “it was reported.” Reported by whom? By journalists who are too lazy to go and see for themselves. Call me a cynic, but I do find it very strange that CSB went from perfectly healthy to practically a vegetable in just months. I don’t think he’s faking it but I really want some independent confirmation from someone who is not loyal to CSB.
[quote=“Taiwanguy”]Actually, THIS is the president’s digs:
taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ … 2003560338
He was transferred from Taipei Prison in 2013 and is serving the remainder of his term in Taichung. He is receiving special treatment now. In Taipei, he was treated like all other prisoners. Also, despite the report from the international observers/visitors stating that Chen’s health had deteriorated while he was in Taipei Prison, the report also mentioned that the “prisons generally met international standards, and authorities permitted visits by independent human rights observers.”
state.gov/documents/organization/204451.pdf[/quote]
Why did the Chinese upgrade his room? I thought everything was legal.
Also, the description of the Taipei Prison cell as being “ant-infested” is pretty ridiculous as well. There was one night that Chen was bitten by ants. He complained the next morning, and the situation was taken care of. It wasn’t a persistent problem…Just a one-time thing.
tw.news.yahoo.com/%E8%A8%B1%E6% … 10702.html
taiwanenews.com/doc/20120914105.php
It’s laminate, so plastic. Easy to maintain. There’s no room service in prison.
I find the discussion about his quarters futile. He should be let out.
I guess they upgraded him from a washroom to a bedroom just in time for 2016?
Where is the cctv that monitors his bowel movement? Don’t tell me they removed it to save cost.
[quote=“sofun”]I guess they upgraded him from a washroom to a bedroom just in time for 2016?
Where is the cctv that monitors his bowel movement? Don’t tell me they removed it to save cost.[/quote]
2013 is just in time for 2016?
This will have zero effect on the election…ZERO.
Then we should also let out everybody who has committed the same crimes as he. Including some of Ma’s own people who are serving time now.
Then we should also let out everybody who has committed the same crimes as he. Including some of Ma’s own people who are serving time now.[/quote]
Only after 6 years.