PERSECUTED?The Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation survey found that doubts about the fairness of Chen’s corruption trials persist like a ‘specter haunting Taiwan’
Taipei Times
Date: Oct 25, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
A recent poll found that close to half of Taiwanese believe that former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)
did not receive fair trials, but more than half do not think he was a victim of political persecution, the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation said yesterday.
Chen served more than six years of a 20-year prison sentence for several convictions on corruption charges before being released on medical parole in January last year.
While 45.9 percent of respondents said Chen was not given fair trials, 37.8 percent said he was.
Asked if former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was responsible for the improper prosecution of Chen, 45.7 percent of respondents said he was not, while 43.2 percent thought that he was.
Asked if Chen was a victim of political persecution, 56.5 percent said he was not, while 35.1 percent said he was.
“The poll results show that doubts persist over Chen’s cases, which are like a ‘specter haunting Taiwan,’” foundation chairman You Ying-lung (游盈隆) said. [FULL STORY]