"Hsu Tzu-chiang's Exercise" Documentary Taichung Special Screening @ National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

I feel that they didn't treat me like a human being at all. That's why I often say that when I stand in front of the court, I don't really have any demands—I just beg them to treat me like a human being. I have a family and a clan behind me; this affects more than just me alone.

I feel that they treat cases like "homework." "Homework" can be done well or poorly, written carelessly, as long as it gets handed in. A case is seemingly just like homework.

Hsu Tzu-chiang, Victim of a Taiwanese Wrongful Conviction

You may not have heard of "Hsu Tzu-chiang," but you might have heard of "Chiang Kuo-ching" or "Su Chien-ho." Hsu Tzu-chiang is just like them, drifting and sinking in this judicial prison for a long time. Yet Hsu Tzu-chiang is somewhat more "fortunate" than Chiang Kuo-ching; he did not pay with his life in exchange for ultimate innocence, paying instead only 21 years of his youth, with 16 of those years spent behind bars.

Hsu Tzu-chiang is a renowned victim of a wrongful conviction case in Taiwan, and the Hsu Tzu-chiang case "achieved" many firsts in the history of Taiwan's judiciary. He was the first defendant to obtain an opportunity for retrial after a death sentence became final due to a J.Y. Interpretation (Interpretation No. 582); the first defendant to be released upon the enactment of the Criminal Speedy Trial Act, stepping out of the 1.368-ping death row cell where he had stayed for 16 years. After going through 5 extraordinary appeals, 1 constitutional interpretation, 7 death penalty pronouncements, and 9 retrials, Hsu Tzu-chiang finally welcomed his innocence and became a free man.

Documentary director Chi Yueh-chun documented Hsu Tzu-chiang for five years. Initially, he shared the mindset of the general public, believing that the courts would not casually sentence someone to death and that Hsu must have been involved in the crime. However, as the documentation deepened and he continued to unearth the story, doubts arose within him. After extensively reading the judicial authorities' interrogation and trial records, he found numerous contradictions, visited Hsu's pro bono defense lawyers and civil groups participating in the advocacy to understand why they were willing to assist Hsu, and further interviewed retired judges, exploring Taiwan's judicial ecology from multiple perspectives to investigate whether there were unimaginable secrets hidden within...

Register to Attend

Time

May 6, 2017 (Sat) 14:00

Location

1F Auditorium, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (No. 2, Sec. 1, Wuquan W. Rd., West Dist., Taichung City)

Donation for Tickets

NT$350 / ticket

Post-Screening Panel Discussion