Jerome Cohen, mentor to prominent Taiwanese politicians, dies at 95

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Jerome Cohen, who taught former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and former Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), died Monday, his son confirmed according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Cohen, referred to as "the first American to practice law in China" by the WSJ and as a "pioneer" of Asian law studies on his personal website, taught the two political figures during his years as a professor at Harvard Law School.

Devoted to human rights issues in Taiwan and China, Cohen served as a pro-bono representative of Henry Liu's widow in 1985, after the Taiwanese-American dissident who opposed Taiwan's then-martial law government was assassinated in California.

During Cohen's stay in Taiwan for the trial, he also visited his former student Lu, then serving a 12-year sentence as a political prisoner for her role in the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident pro-democracy protest.

Cohen helped with her release, according to an article published in the Harvard Law Bulletin in 2006.

His research on Asian law focused on legal institutions, criminal justice reform, dispute resolution, human rights, and the role of international law relating to China and Taiwan, according to his personal website.

He also served as a full-time consultant to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1959 and testified at many congressional hearings on China, the website said.