Taipei - Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian was expected to be indicted on corruption charges Friday afternoon, becoming the first Taiwanese leader to be charged.

The Supreme Prosecutor's Office announced it will hold a news conference at 3:15 pm (0715GMT), and it is expected to announce the indictment of Chen and possibly members of his family.

Taiwan press said the indictment document is 800 pages, and Chen is likely to be indicted on four charges of corruption, which could result in 30 years imprisonment or a life term.

Taipei  - Taiwan former president Chen Shui-bian has written a poem to lament his detention on corruption allegations and say he would die for Taiwan's independence, a newspaper said Wednesday.

In the poem "To My Wife," published by the Liberty Times, Chen compared the Taipei Penitentiary, where he is being held, to the Bastille, the Paris prison whose storming in 1789 is considered the beginning of the French Revolution:

Taipei  - Taiwan's ex-president Chen Shui-bian, who was hospitalized after being on a hunger strike since November 12, was sent back to the Taipei Detention Centre Wednesday, a hospital spokesman said.

"After treatment, his conditions, including high blood pressure, stomach and other problems, are stable. We have notified the Taipei Detention Centre he is fit to leave the hospital," said Dr Yang Chang-ping, spokesman of the Panchiao Hospital.

He said Chen appeared calm when told he would be sent back for detention.

Taipei  - Officials of the detention centre holding Taiwan's ex-president Chen Shui-bian said they would resort to force feeding if he does not end his hunger strike, according to press reports.

Chen began his fast Wednesday morning after he was after he was taken to the Taipei Penitentiary on charges of embezzlement, and his health has begun to suffer, cable TV channel CTI reported.

Taipei - Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian was remanded into custody Wednesday after his arrest on graft allegations, becoming the first former president to be detained in Taiwan's history.

He is now known as 2630, a number he would be referred to so long as he is kept at the Taipei Penitentiary.

Like what other Taiwanese detainees have encountered, he was made to strip and given a thorough bodily search before putting on clothes for detainees, a penitentiary spokesman said.

Taipei - Many people in Taiwan on Wednesday welcomed the detainment of former President Chen Shui-bian on graft charges, accusing him of being corrupt and greedy, but independence supporters warned of potentially violent repercussions.

After the Taipei District Court on Wednesday ordered Chen, 57, detained at the Taipei Penitentiary, some people set off firecrackers and popped champagne to celebrate.