Asia Program Briefing

The Trials of Former President Chen Shui-bian: Implications for Taiwan's Democracy, the Rule of Law and International Stature

December 3, 2009 / Philadelphia

Jacques deLisle

Taiwan's first president from the former non-ruling party, Chen Shui-bian, has been convicted of corruption and sentenced to life imprisonment. His pre-trial detention, the severity of his sentence, the broader pattern of investigations and prosecution of political figures in which the former president was the biggest target, and Chen's filing a suit in the United States claiming Taiwan has been legally under U.S. rule since throughout the postwar era have been controversial and have raised doubts-and defenses-concerning their implications for the health of Taiwan's democratic politics, rule of law and standing in the world.

Jacques deLisle is Director of FPRI's Asia Program and Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in US-China relations, Chinese politics and legal reform, cross-strait relations, and the international status of Taiwan.

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