Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, who is serving a 20-year jail sentence for corruption, tried to kill himself over the weekend, his office confirmed Monday. Chen attempted to hang himself Sunday night to express his "strong displeasure" with what he called "political persecution" by the government of the ruling Nationalist Party (KMT), his office said.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Taipei on Sunday to protest against nuclear energy, a day before the first anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou's second-term inauguration. Protesters began the 5.7-kilometer march from the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in eastern Taipei to the Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, where a rally was held in the evening. Some protesters proceeded to the legislature to stage a 24-hour sit-in and relay hunger strike.

Taiwan's ailing former president Chen Shui-bian has been transferred to a prison hospital to continue serving his 20-year jail term for corruption, the justice ministry said Friday. Chen was taken to a hospital for inmates in central Taiwan early Friday from a public hospital in Taipei, where he had spent several months being treated for depression and other health problems, it said. Doctors have recommended home care for the 62-year-old, who is diagnosed with severe depression, a nerve disorder and other conditions, according to medical documents released by his office.

A Taiwanese politician known for her close ties with the president has been interrogated for allegedly taking bribes, prosecutors said Thursday, in the latest graft scandal to hit the island. Lai Su-ju, a member of the Taipei City Council, was questioned on suspicion of soliciting and accepting money from a company in a massive construction project in the capital, said the Taipei district prosecutor's office.