Chen Shui-bian and his wife were accused of taking more than $20 million in bribes from banks and financial institutions that sought to protect themselves during the implementation of Chen's financial reform program. The pair were sentenced to life in prison [JURIST report] in September 2009 after being convicted of embezzlement, receiving bribes, forgery and money laundering. Chen was again indicted [JURIST report] shortly after the September sentence on additional corruption charges relating to funds he received while traveling abroad as president. Chen was initially detained in November 2008 and formally indicted [JURIST report] the following month. He unsuccessfully appealed [JURIST report] his pretrial detention in January 2009. Chen served as president of Taiwan from 2000-2008.

Since the enactment of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in 1993, approximately 13,000 servicemen and women have been discharged from the armed forces as a result of the policy. In addition to political attempts at ending the ban on gays in the military, it has faced legal challenges regarding its constitutionality. The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) [advocacy website] on Friday filed a petition asking the US Supreme Court to rescind the stay issued [JURIST reports] by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowing the policy to continue being enforced. In September, the US District Court for the Central District of California found the policy an unconstitutional violation of gay service members' First Amendment and due process rights and issued the initial injunction [JURIST reports] against its enforcement the following month.