To Taiwanese Americans concerned about human rights for CSB,

Below you will find the list of members of the TLHR. Please determine which representative is in your district and send out the request for support for medical parole for CSB. If you are within reasonable distance from the district office, a personal visit to the staff and handing over the request would be even better. Thank you for helping in this humanitarian cause.

Joseph Lin

 

Dear Supporters of Human Rights for CSB,

The support for medical parole for CSB is gaining and we must keep the momentum going. Below is a draft that you can use to contact your district representatives to write to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Find out the name and address of your district representative and email him/her to ask for support. If you have difficulty, please fill in your name and address and forward to FAPA HQ in D.C. for assistance. Be sure to include the Medical Report "Report to TLHRC Submitted to Congress" an attachment to this message in the email request to your representative.

Please direct any questions you may have to me or to FAPA HQ.

Joseph Lin
Email: kamatoro2@yahoo.com

Report_to_TLHRC_Submitted to Congress (pdf)

 

Date Dear Representative _______________ As a Taiwanese American in your district, I would like to bring the following issue to your attention. You may be aware that the former president of Taiwan, Mr. Chen Shui-bian, is currently serving a 19-year sentence in a Taipei jail on politically motivated corruption charges. He has been incarcerated for over 1,200 days thus far. After receiving word of the miserable conditions under which Mr. Chen is incarcerated and reports about his declining health, a team of medical professionals traveled to Taiwan as private citizens in mid- June to visit the former president in his jail cell. The team included two physicians who are professors at the UC Davis Medical Center in Davis, CA. After the trip the team prepared a report on the president's condition and requested Congressmen Dan Lungren and Robert Andrews to submit it to the chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) (See attachment). The next step is to convince the TLHRC to hold a hearing on this important human rights matter. As a constituent, I am asking that you support this humanitarian mission by submitting a request to the TLHRC to investigate this matter. As a beacon of democracy and human rights, the world looks to the U.S. for guidance and intercession when, as the report clearly states, violations of international standards are evident. As an ally of Taiwan, it is in our national security interest that the U.S. makes sure that human rights and other democratic principles are adhered to in Taiwan, especially in the face of an increasingly aggressive China. To assist in this matter, I have taken the liberty of drafting a sample letter below to the co-chairs of the TLHRC urging them to hold such a hearing. It goes without saying that your proactive assistance in this humanitarian effort will be greatly appreciated by your Taiwanese American constituency. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your consideration in this important human rights issue. Sincerely, Your Name ADDRESS

The Hon. Frank Wolf Chairman, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission The Hon. James McGovern Chairman, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission U.S. House of Representatives Washington DC 20515 Dear Chairman Wolf and Chairman McGovern: As an advocate for human rights, freedom, democracy and the rule of law around the world, I would like to bring the following issue to your attention. I hereby respectfully submit to you the attached report called "The Effects of Incarceration On the Mental and Physical Health of Former President Chen Shui-Bian of Taiwan" that was drafted by an American medical team of private citizens consisting of Joseph Lin, Ph.D., Ken Yoneda, M.D., and Charles Whitcomb, M.D. after they visited the former president of Taiwan, Mr. Chen Shui-bian, in his Taipei jail cell last month. The medical team made the trip to Taiwan with the sole purpose of assessing the physical and mental condition of President Chen and to inquire into reports of inhumane living conditions and confinement. Chen is currently serving a 19-year sentence on corruption charges and has been incarcerated for over 1,200 days thus far. The physicians found President Chen incarcerated in conditions which they believe are not in accordance with the Standard Minimum Rules of the Treatment of Prisoners, first adopted by the UN in 1955. They further concluded that his imprisonment conditions are a major source of President Chen's health problems. In their recommendations the report concludes: "Former president Chen Shui-Bian [should] be released from confinement on medical parole based on the above assessments, conclusion and recommendations, and on compelling humanitarian grounds." I would like to highlight that Section 2(c) of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act ("The Law of the Land") states that: "The preservation of human rights of all the people of Taiwan are hereby reaffirmed as objectives of the United States." It is in light of this legislation that we request that your Commission investigate this important human rights case and that your Commission hold a hearing on this important matter at its earliest convenience. Thank you for your consideration of our concern. Sincerely, Name of your Congressional Representative Member of Congress