Jailed Taiwanese ex-leader hospitalized after five-day hunger strike

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian was taken from his jail cell to a hospital Sunday after a five-day hunger strike when a doctor found an irregular heartbeat, a prison official said. Lee Ta-chu, an official at Tucheng Jail where Chen had been held since last Wednesday for investigation on graft allegations, told The Associated Press a prison doctor recommended Chen's hospitalization after examining him. Chen "is having difficulty breathing and is complaining of pain on the left side of his chest," said Lee, adding that the former president was conscious when taken to the hospital.