Ex-President Chen hints at death in a poetic lament as hunger strike continues

Chen, 57, has refused solid food since early Nov. 12, when judges ordered him locked up in a suburban Taipei detention center on graft allegations. Chen denies the allegations of money laundering and embezzlement, and says he is being persecuted by President Ma Ying-jeou's new government for his anti-China stance.

"The ambition to establish an independent country is hung in midair," Chen wrote in the poem, "For My Wife." "If I cannot walk out of the jail standing straight, I will die on the cross of Taiwanese history."

Chen's office released the rambling, seven-verse, 42-line opus in Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese dialect late Tuesday and it was published in Taiwanese newspapers Wednesday.

Lee Ta-chu, the deputy director of Tucheng Jail, confirmed Wednesday that Chen's hunger strike had continued into a 15th day and that the former leader appeared weak.

Chen uses his verse to apologize to his wife, Wu Shu-chen, for entering the "ruthless" world of politics and complain about the difficult conditions of his imprisonment. But much of the poem's fire is directed at Ma and his administration.

"I am now a prisoner of the new master, and I lament the changeable, cruel, ruthless and dark nature of politics," Chen said.

Chen's desire to carve out an independent political and cultural identity for Taiwan's 23 million people was the hallmark of his eight-year presidency, which ended due to term limits six months ago.

In contrast, Ma favors closer ties with China, from which Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and says it will attack if the island moves to make the separation between them permanent.

Prosecutors believe Chen may have illegally amassed tens of millions of dollars during his years in power and say they have enough evidence to hold him while they prepare their case. Taiwanese law permits the incarceration of suspects for up to four months without indictment to prevent them from colluding with alleged conspirators.

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