By KHT Staff – Image shows the Penghu Country Magistrate not long before the Feb. 17 accident.
KAOHSIUNG — Penghu County Magistrate Chen Guang-fu (陳光復) was hospitalized after suffering a serious fall on Feb. 17 at the Penghu Cultural Affairs Bureau auditorium, where he reportedly struck the back of his head and lost consciousness. He was initially treated locally before being airlifted to Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital for advanced care.
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), a physician by training, said the impact caused a subarachnoid hemorrhage and that Chen underwent emergency decompression surgery in which part of the skull was temporarily removed to relieve pressure. Lai said Chen’s condition improved somewhat after transfer from Penghu, but that he remains unconscious and in a dangerous state.
The Liberty Times reports that Taiwan People’s Party founder and renowned surgeon Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), speaking during a temple visit in Miaoli on Feb. 18, said it remained unclear whether Chen’s fall caused a brain hemorrhage or whether a medical event led to the fall. He noted that such cases require clinical evaluation and said he had not reviewed Chen’s medical records.
Ko added that the incident underscored a longstanding structural issue: serious neurosurgical cases in Penghu often require transfer to Kaohsiung for treatment, highlighting limitations in local medical resources. The situation, he said, reflects broader disparities in emergency and specialist care between Taiwan’s main island and its outlying regions.
