The government must grant medical parole to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), not only for the sake of protecting his rights, but for the sake of social stability, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.

“Since former president Chen Shui-bian’s health is failing, the DPP calls on President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] to respect the assessments of medical professionals and grant him medical parole, so he may receive appropriate treatment at home,” DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said yesterday. “By granting Chen medical parole, Ma would be acting in accordance with the two international human rights covenants that he signed, and which the legislature adopted as law.”