Reflections on the "Knock, Knock, Fate is Calling" Seminar

On the afternoon of June 24, I attended a seminar from the Judicial Reform Foundation's "Knock, Knock, Fate is Calling" series. This session invited musical artist Wen I-jen to share his personal journey.

Wen I-jen is one of the rare international conductors in the music world who bridges both Eastern and Western stages. In 2008, during the presidency of A-bian, he was invited back to Taiwan to serve as the music director and principal conductor of the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan. After his one-year term expired in 2009, he registered to compete in the selection process for the orchestra's principal conductor. However, an orchestra member leaked to the media that his academic credentials were fake. Amid public opinion whipped up by the media, Wen's reputation was severely damaged, and from then on, no music orchestra was willing to hire him.

At first, Wen guided us in listening to Beethoven's and Tchaikovsky's Symphonies of Fate. Both musicians had reached the lowest depths of their lives in immense suffering. We felt the emotions they conveyed through their music—how they struggled, were defeated by reality, yet still clung to hope and tried their best.

Feeling that a scholar may be killed but not humiliated, and unwilling to hurt his parents and mentors who had nurtured and supported him, nor let his child be born carrying original sin, Wen appealed his case nine times over the past seven years. He sued the orchestra and Apple Daily, but lost every time. To help vindicate himself from the fake-degree scandal and to survive, he simultaneously studied law and interior design. He ended up writing his own legal briefs for his final appeals. He now works in interior design. Fortunately, in 2017, during his tenth appeal, he encountered a favorable judge and won the lawsuit. The judge ordered the orchestra to pay him NT$500,000 in state compensation, and Apple Daily was required to publish an apology in the newspaper.

Wen felt that relying solely on lawyers could not help him win a lawsuit; he had to understand the law himself, treating lawyers merely as military strategists.

Why did the Wen I-jen incident happen? The primary reason was that right before an election in Taiwan, politicians established dubious organizations as political patronage to reward their supporters. Certain members planted within these dubious organizations became administrative and professional leaders. For the sake of interests, they wanted to install their preferred candidates and thus used unscrupulous means to eliminate others. Wen, an outstanding musician, was sacrificed in this manner.

Wen entered the world of music because music brought him complete joy. However, after the fake-degree scandal broke, music became a source of pain, leading him to leave music behind. Although his innocence has now been restored, his damaged reputation can never be recovered. He stated that he would never pick up music again because the trauma remains. Yet, he is very grateful that experiencing this suffering changed his life. Previously, he only lived in his own world, caring only for himself and his family; he did not know the Judicial Reform Foundation and bore no social responsibility. This ordeal made him begin to contact and care for people in different circumstances, giving him a sense of social responsibility. He deeply realized that if we do not care about and participate in judicial reform, one day our own children might become victims.

After the seminar ended, I went up to thank Wen. I marveled that as a Christian he could be a pastor, and I felt his sharing today was deeply infectious. He said he didn't know how to give speeches; I told him that his heartfelt sharing was the best speech of all.

I felt that as the talented musical artist Wen I-jen experienced the lowest depths of life, the power of his faith transformed him into a beautiful butterfly. He surrendered himself to God and let God guide him through it all. This afternoon's life dialogue and exchange filled my mind and body with abundant energy, leaving my soul enriched and fulfilled.

※ This article was adapted from the author's Facebook page