TAIPEI (AFP) — Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian is refusing to give up a hunger strike in protest at what he says is a political witch-hunt against him, as his bail attempt was rejected by a court Monday.
Chen was rushed to a hospital outside Taipei for a forced health check and treatment Saturday after launching his hunger strike at the detention centre where he has been held on corruption charges since December.
His wheelchair-bound wife Wu Shu-chen, who was accompanied by her son Chen Chih-chung and lawmaker Kao Chih-peng, visited her husband.
"Wu tried to persuade him to stop the hunger strike, or he might not be able to hold on until May 17," Kao told reporters outside, referring to the date set for an anti-China rally by the Democratic Progressive Party that Chen once led.
"But the former president only agreed to drink water," Kao added.
Outside the hospital, a small group of Chen loyalists chanted and unfurled banners in his support.
Chen's doctors recommended that he continue to be hospitalised for heart, lung and eye diseases.
However, a panel of three judges at the Taipei District Court rejected his attempt to be released on bail.
"The judges said after a discussion that the reasons to detain Chen remain. They therefore ruled that the extension will be extended for two months beginning from May 26," spokesman Huang Chun-ming told reporters.
"The defendant's appeal for a release on bail was also rejected."
The judges said in their ruling Chen had to be detained as he could collude with other suspects, destroy evidence and flee the island if released.
Under Taiwanese law, there are no limits on how long he can be detained.
The spokesman said that the judges postponed a hearing originally scheduled for Tuesday, taking into consideration Chen's health.
The former president, who left office last year after a maximum two terms, is accused of embezzling public funds, money laundering, accepting bribes on a land deal, influence peddling and forgery.
Legal experts say the 59-year-old, the island's first former leader to be indicted, could face life in prison if convicted.
His wife, son and daughter-in-law have also been accused in a far-reaching case which has captivated Taiwan for months and shed light on the murky world of Taiwanese politics.
Chen, who as president frequently angered Beijing with his pro-independence policies, has vowed to dismiss his lawyers and stop summoning witnesses in his case to court to protest his "illegal detention, prosecution and trial."
He previously went on short hunger strikes in November and February, saying his trial is a witch-hunt by the Beijing-friendly government of his successor as president, Ma Ying-jeou.
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