Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je is calling on President Ma Ying-jeou to pardon former president Chen Shui-bian. Ko was speaking in Taipei on Saturday.
Ko said the move will help bring a reconciliation between President Ma Ying-jeou’s KMT administration and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led by president-elect Tsai Ing-wen.
Chen was in power for eight years from 2000 to 2008. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2009 on charges of corruption, but was released on medical parole last January. There have been rising calls for granting the former leader a pardon.
The mayor, an independent, used to be the head of Chen’s medical team. He said he would like to visit the former leader if time permits.
The presidential office said on Friday that it is not able to pardon Chen, because the authorities are still handling cases that involve him.
Most DPP lawmakers are in favor of granting Chen a pardon. However, the party said on Friday that it will respect “public opinion” when asked to comment on whether president-elect Tsai Ing-wen will issue a pardon when she takes office on May 20.