Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Law professor Jerome Cohen to form committee to study Chen Shui-bian’s trial

Michael Richardson

Law professor Jerome Cohen announced his intention on Dec. 18 to form a study committee to review the human rights of former Republic of China in-exile President Chen Shui-bian. Cohen’s announcement followed his first-time visit to the hospital cell of Chen who is serving a 17-year sentence for alleged corruption. Chen was convicted in 2009 following a controversial trial.

Although Cohen enjoys an ivy-league reputation he labors under a heavy burden on this project to establish his credibility as neutral because of statements he published in 2009 about Chen’s trial.

Chen’s trial unfair, FAHR mission says

Taipei Times

Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) did not receive a fair trial and could be seen as a de facto political prisoner, a fact-finding mission sent by a Taiwanese-American organization concluded in its preliminary findings after a two-week investigation in Taiwan.

The way Chen, who is serving an 18-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption and is currently in hospital receiving medical treatment for various ailments, has been treated in prison and the way his trial was handled have not been seen even in some dictatorships, the two-member mission told the Taipei Times in an interview.

TV host resigns as rumors swirl

Taipei Times

Grace Liao, right, host of SET-TV’s political talk show New Taiwan Go Go Go, is pictured in a screen grab from the show on Thursday.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuen, Taipei Times

Grace Liao (廖筱君), host of SET-TV’s New Taiwan Go Go Go (新台灣加油), the successor to popular political TV talk show Talking Show (大話新聞), famous for its criticism of the government and China, confirmed her resignation on Friday, allegedly due to increasing pressure by the Chinese government on the show’s editorial autonomy.

“I don’t feel at all sleepy even though I have been awake the entire night. Making this decision was not an easy task, but after doing so, there is a sense of relief … We will meet another day and until then, we will fight for this land called Taiwan,” Liao said in a Facebook post at about 4am on Friday.

‘Wild Strawberries’ are the future

Yang Tsui 楊翠

On the eve of Nov. 26, when a consortium was to sign a contract to buy Next Media Group’s Taiwanese businesses, dozens of students gathered in front of the Executive Yuan despite the cold and heavy rain, urging the government to stop Chinese influence over Taiwanese media, to oppose media monopolies and to safeguard press freedom. The students waited for a day and a night, but the authorities refused to engage them in a dialogue.

Their failure was not very surprising. Still, seeing their mobilization, organization, publicity materials, division of labor and discourse, I was pleased to see the genesis of a new, mature, social movement. I would like to call this generation the “Wild Strawberry generation.”

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