Taiwan's Judiciary: A Shock To The System

"From the beginning, it was always my intention to allow the legal process to take its course, with the aim of getting a fair and impartial trial, based on the principles of ROC law and correct legal procedure. In essence, I put my faith in the system and trusted that the truth would come out.
However, after almost three years of going through Taiwan’s court system, I was shocked and dismayed by the extreme bias with which I was treated, to the degree that I was denied the chance to defend myself fairly."

A Message From Zain Dean (February 1, 2013)

  This second paragraph of Dean's lengthy message, which appeared on Taiwanese.com, Forumosa and other Taiwan websites following news in January of his daring escape from Taiwan, echoes exactly my own naive reasons and beliefs that compelled me to take on the false accusations perpetrated against me by Alice Yang and the National Taipei University of Nursing & Health Sciences (國立臺北護理健康大學). 

  And just like Dean, as the agonizing weeks and months stretched into years, I saw the unabashed truth and horror that is Taiwan's shameful judiciary. Victimized and bullied by a corrupt and sociopathic clique of administrators and their cronies, and hamstrung almost completely by an inept, unprofessional and biased court, I suffered through a 4-year lesson in the harsh realities of (un)due process and the Rule of Men that dominate all facets of the legal processes on the island. 

  Reading his message and the accounts of his first trial, first appeal and final appeal brings back bitter memories of my own frustrations, shocks and dismay brought on by repeated violations of both international and Taiwan's own laws and legal procedures as well as of my human rights. Like Dean, I foolishly put my faith in the government's propaganda that Taiwan is a nation adhering to international standards of law, that Taiwan's laws protect the innocent and victims of wrongdoing, and that Taiwan respects the human rights of all. I trusted that the system would allow the truth and justice to prevail.

  From the sham handling of the nursing university's internal "investigation" and decision to the (mis)handling of my subsequent lawsuit against both Yang and the school, as I pursued my fight for the truth and justice it became more and more apparent that the ranks at all levels of my case had closed and it was an "us vs him" uphill battle that was stacked very heavily against me from the beginning - just as it has been against Zain Dean. 

  All too often in Taiwan's judiciary, the truth is twisted, manipulated or suppressed, and justice is stolen by the very people entrusted and empowered to uphold and use the law for the good of all deserving of its protections.
  Click on A Message From Zain Dean for the full text plus comments from readers.   

Judicial Deja Vu

  As I read back through more and more news articles about the Zain Dean case, I have an overpowering sense of deja vu. The often-times inappropriate, prejudicial and heavy-handed ways Dean's case was handled by the courts, the prosecutor's office, the media, plus the Taiwan public's insatiable appetite to see a foreigner convicted and jailed, has been reminiscent of the way my own case was little more than exercise in style over substance - a comical show put on to give the appearance of due process and true justice that in reality are nearly as elusive in Taiwan as they are in it's close neighbor China.
 On paper and in it's propaganda, Taiwan's judiciary professes to adhere to due process and the Rule of Law, but in practice due process is subservient to the personal views, biases, connections and loyalty to certain patrons of too many judges. If you've ever spent enough time in a Taiwan court (or prosecutor's room), Rule of Law in actuality is Rule of the Judge-God - omnipotent, all-powerful, beyond all reproach...an additional adversary to overcome in an innocent person's quest for appropriate justice. 
  Although I was the plaintiff in my case against the National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, the succession of judges in Taipei District Court treated me virtually the same way Zain Dean alleges he was treated as the defendant in his vehicular murder case. The similarities and parallels in how our cases were (mis)handled and manipulated by the courts and other involved parties are numerous and indicative of a long-running and endemic deficiency in Taiwan's judiciary, particularly when cases involve foreign nationals.   
  As evidenced by the Zain Dean case, a very bad beat continues to go on with no positive change in sight. Taiwan's judiciary has many flaws that have been debated for years by critics and the government alike, but very little tangible improvement has been seen. In fact, it appears that the situation may be growing worse and the future looks bleak especially for any expat in Taiwan unfortunate enough to become involved in a legal case. 
  Here is another recent article about the Zain Dean case and a Taiwan TV news story in which Dean again proclaims his innocence:

  Girlfriend of UK fugitive detained
  Zain Dean calls reporters to proclaim his innocence

The Hypocrisy And The Audacity (Of Taiwan's Government)

  The Taiwan government's hypocrisy and double standards on the law, due process and human rights was on full display earlier this month in a transnational case involving a Taiwanese diplomat based in the U.S. accused of abusing her domestic worker and violating human trafficking laws among other things. 

  Apparently, the Taiwan government believes that Taiwan is the only place in the world where  everything is "done according to the law" and no one should question or challenge the actions and decisions of the authorities and judiciary. As well, in it's reaction to the arrest and detention of the diplomat, the Taiwan government showed it's nearly complete disregard for the issue of others' human rights, instead playing it's very popular "sovereignty card", whining incessantly that the case somehow involved China and disregard for Taiwan's sovereignty . 

  And in a farcical attempt to try and help Liu escape U.S. due process and law, the Taiwan government insisted for days that she was protected by diplomatic immunity in part because her alleged criminal misconduct was performed while on official duty. In perhaps the ultimate act of hypocrisy, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs even protested that diplomat Liu's "human rights were violated" in her arrest. What sheer audacity!

  No one in Taiwan's government, certainly no one in the judiciary, not even any of my lawyers from the Legal Aid Farce concerned themselves with my human rights as they were continually violated by undue process and selective application of or disregard for various laws and regulations. Trying to point out the various violations of my legal and human rights was like speaking in a foreign language to these people. Some even took the attitude that just by the mere existence of my case in the court and my having a lawyer provided by the LAF my legal and human rights were being safeguarded and protected. What a crock! Human rights are little more than empty words and a HUGE sham perpetuated by successive governments on the island. 

  Read this editorial for some interesting insight from the Taiwanese author on the Liu case and how it exposes the hypocrisy and truth of human rights in Taiwan: Human Rights Treated As a Slogan

  Here are a few of the many stories I came across as I followed developments in Liu's arrest and subsequent guilty plea:

Taiwan Diplomat in Kansas USA Arrested by FBI for Abusing Philippine Housekeeper, Embarrassing President Ma's Government 

Talk of The Day -- Taiwan-U.S. ties Tested by Diplomat's Arrest 

Details of Envoy’s US Arrest Emerge 

Taiwanese Diplomat May Wait in Prison for Months

02/09/12 Update: I've started a new blog entitled Giving Up a Life's Worth of Music, Movies and More For My Kids' Future 
 

Putting a Price on Life and Human Rights in Taiwan

  I came across a very enlightening editorial in the Nov. 7 Taipei Times newspaper about the Taiwanese judiciary's recent ruling that the mother of a wrongly convicted and executed young serviceman would receive $3.4 million in compensation for the loss of her son. While highlighting several troubling aspects of this case, author Lin Feng-jeng aptly points out the Taiwanese judiciary's and government's penchant for claiming that everything they do is "done according to the law." 
  According to the faulty logic of this oft-used excuse in Taiwan, the young man's confession under torture and duress, his execution, the lack of punishment for those guilty of violating his human and legal rights and for orchestrating his conviction and execution, were all handled "according to the law." 
  In my case, I was also told numerous times by the judge, prosecutor's and staff at the prosecutor's office, and even by some lawyers, that everything about my case was being handled "according to the law." In fact, my last lawyer, in a fit of anger while we were arguing about how poorly my case was being handled by the court and how much my legal and human rights were being violated, told me point-blank that "The truth didn't matter." He went on to explain that in Taiwan's courts, what judges care about is "who has the evidence" that the judge deems relevant according to his own thinking. Put simply, the parties in court are at the whims, fancies and biases of the particular judge, and whoever is lucky enough to be in the judge's favor will win the case!
  Read the editorial for more about how the law, judiciary and government handle legal and human rights in Taiwan:  Vote For a Legal System That Is Just

Of Concealment, Deception and Ignoring the Evidence

  These photos, plus the video and my MRT travel records are tangible and consistent physical proof that there was no reasonable possibility for me to have put my arm around the accuser's waist - no matter before, during the time, or after the photos were taken. 
  Some of the crucial pieces of evidence the photos show are the time (contained in the file information by right clicking on the photo and clicking "Details" and on my watch); witnesses; my, the accuser and the witness' positions, and the area surrounding the nursing university booth. In addition, there were more photos and other video taken during the June 4 activity that were hidden away and prevented by certain parties from being revealed that would have further supported my innocence. 
  In essence, Alice Yang and the nursing university's false allegation of sexual harassment has always been predicated on concealment, deception, unsubstantiated hearsay and outright lies. What they have done to me is far more heinous and dangerous than anything I've been accused of by them. 
  The accuser, the nursing university (國立臺北護理健康大學), and the Gender Equity committee that handled the sham investigation have NEVER produced any photos, video, or other tangible evidence that supports the accuser's story or the witnesses hearsay testimony.  That the court would accept the accuser, the witness', and the nursing university's unsubstantiated lies over much more factual, tangible, and reasonable physical evidence shows the magnitude of prejudice, inability to judge facts from fiction, and even corruption widely known and prevalent in Taiwan's judiciary.