The recent revelation that former President of the Republic of China in-exile Chen Shui-bian was administered a psychiatric drug without his knowledge by prison doctors creates a headache for Barack Obama. Chen returned to prison Tuesday from a week-long hospitalization for a heart condition where the drugging was discovered.
Chen was administered Ativan or lorazepan by its generic name. Chen has said he did not request the medication nor saw a psychiatrist.
President Obama has carefully adhered to six decades of American “strategic ambiguity” which has left the island of Taiwan, also called Formosa, trapped in an unresolved international status. The United States is the “principal occupying Power” of Taiwan under the San Francisco Peace Treaty which ended World War II with Japan.
Chen Shui-bian, head of the ROC exiled government, was imprisoned on corruption charges months after leaving office. Chen’s trial was controversial and marred by a skit by court personnel mocking Chen.
In addition to appeals in ROC courts, Chen sought protection in an United States military court alleging he had acted under orders from the United States. After the U.S. court denied jurisdiction to Chen, a ROC prosecutor explored treason charges against the imprisoned former leader.
Around the time of Chen’s appeal to the United States he was administered a psychiatric medication without his knowledge or consent. The drugging only recently came to light as new doctors now treating Chen reviewed his medication history while behind bars.
Chen has demanded an explanation for the psychiatric medication. Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung told the Taipei Times that ROC jailors were, “infringing on my father’s human rights, it’s inhumane and unjust.”
Examiner visited Chen in prison in 2010 for an exclusive interview. At that time Chen was in good spirits and in no obvious psychiatric distress despite the harsh surroundings and strict security procedures. Chen denied corruption and insisted his jailing was politically motivated by his successor Ma Ying-jeou
In January, Ma Ying-jeou was narrowly reelected to another four-year term. Ma received a congratulatory message from Obama, his first significant statement on Taiwan where he openly embraced the status quo of ambiguity.
In 2009, the District of Columbia U. S. Court of Appeals called Taiwan’s murky status a case of “political purgatory” and urged Obama to act expeditiously to resolve the matter. The drugging of Chen in prison now adds a new dimension to America’s unfinished business in Taiwan under the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
Source: Michael Richardson - Boston Progressive Examiner
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