Riding for Chiou Ho-shun's Freedom: Press Conference by Supporters of Chiou Ho-shun
Last edited: 2026-07-27
On April 7 this year, Chiou Ho-shun's 60th birthday, his pro bono legal team and civil society groups long campaigning on his behalf officially delivered a "Petition for Presidential Pardon" and the list of online signatures to the Office of the President. The supporting groups further held a formal press conference on April 15, urging the President to grant a pardon to Chiou Ho-shun.
In addition to civil society groups, scholars, and lawyers who have long supported the vindication of Chiou Ho-shun's miscarriage of justice, the list of co-petitioners also includes international review committee members for the Two Covenants, human rights advisory committee members of the Office of the President, incumbent legislators and councilors, Golden Horse and Golden Bell Award-winning directors, religious leaders, and prominent figures from the arts, literature, and sports communities, all expressing their support for a presidential pardon for Chiou Ho-shun. To date, the number of signatures supporting a presidential pardon for Chiou Ho-shun has reached nearly 60,000, spanning 43 countries and regions worldwide. Furthermore, Amnesty International launched a global solidarity campaign for Chiou Ho-shun, which has thus far garnered at least 40,000 signatures from around the world, with branches from at least 13 countries participating in this solidarity action. Consequently, a total of over 100,000 people have joined this petition!
The presidential inauguration on May 20 is drawing ever closer. Today (May 13), the supporting groups launched the "Riding for Chiou Ho-shun's Freedom" action, starting from the Taipei Detention Center, making their way through downtown Taipei, and finally arriving in front of the Office of the President to hold a press conference.
The press conference began with remarks by YU Po-hsiang, convener of the Chiou Ho-shun pro bono legal team. Attorney Yu stated that the Chiou Ho-shun case stemmed from torture, occurring right at the tail end of the authoritarian rule period. Although domestic and international observers generally consider this case to be Taiwan's most urgent miscarriage of justice in need of rescue, the courts have consistently failed to thoroughly disassociate themselves from the gravest form of unlawful state violence—torture—in this case, nor have they had the courage to correct their own mistakes. This has made the case an enormous stain on Taiwan's judicial system and human rights record internationally, serving as a symbol that Taiwan has not completely cast aside torture nor fully bid farewell to the period of authoritarian rule.
Attorney Yu went on to mention that in terms of redressing the grievances suffered by Chiou Ho-shun, the judicial system is powerless, or more accurately, has firmly shut the doors of justice. As long as Chiou Ho-shun's wrongful imprisonment does not end, the massive violation of his human rights does not cease for even a single day, and the state continues day in and day out to grind down and torment his life. If this cruel process of ceaselessly producing injustice is not interrupted, it will ultimately end with Chiou Ho-shun's life withering away in a dark and sunless cell.
Today's press conference was also attended by three individuals who have experienced merciless wrongful imprisonments to offer their support. Mr. SU Ping-k'un, a victim of a miscarriage of justice who was pardoned by the president in 2000, also attended the press conference. Mr. Su stated: "The Chiou Ho-shun case also took place in Hsinchu. At the time, everyone in Hsinchu knew that Chiou Ho-shun and the others had been tortured by the police. I am 100 percent convinced that Chiou Ho-shun's case is a miscarriage of justice. We are now in President Tsai's second term, and everyone has high expectations for the President. I hope the President can pardon Chiou Ho-shun and grant him his freedom."
Pastor LIN Wei-lien of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan attended today's press conference on behalf of the Presbyterian Church. Pastor Lin said: "Jesus Christ was judged and nailed to the cross. We believe that a presidential pardon is the final remedial measure used to compensate for the fairness and justice that the judicial system has failed to return to Chiou Ho-shun. Dozens of pastors from various presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church have currently joined as co-petitioners in this case. We solemnly call upon President Tsai Ing-wen to pardon Chiou Ho-shun. We will also continue to spread the word among church members everywhere, encouraging them to join the petition."
FENG Hsien-hsien, a senior media professional and member of the National Judicial Reform Conference, believes that judicial reform not only requires changing bad traditions and cultures within the system so that the judiciary can better earn the public's trust in the future, but also necessitates actively addressing the harms caused by past malicious prosecutions and wrongful convictions. The Chiou Ho-shun case is a profoundly significant miscarriage of justice among them. The fact that "legal avenues have been exhausted" does not mean a miscarriage of justice does not exist, and a victim would not be willing to accept a pardon unless they truly had nowhere else to turn legally. The situation in the Chiou Ho-shun case is currently urgent, and we earnestly implore the President to continue the spirit of building a nation upon human rights and immediately pardon Chiou Ho-shun.
Following the final confirmation of the death sentence in 2011, Director HO Chao-ti filmed a short film about Chiou Ho-shun titled *Ah-shun of the Rice Meatballs*. Today, Director Ho also came to the venue to express her support. Director Ho stated: "In 2011, I was commissioned by rescue organizations to direct a short film about Chiou Ho-shun titled *Ah-shun of the Rice Meatballs*. To gain a deeper understanding of Chiou Ho-shun, I went to visit him. I asked him where he used to play as a child, what memories he had of his hometown, and what he liked to eat. He said he liked eating rice meatballs. I discovered that at that time, his gaze was intensely eager—it was a passion for wanting to live. The premise of this short film was that I wanted to restore Chiou Ho-shun from a legal case back into a human being. A human being who does not bear a wrongful conviction and a death sentence, like us, who has a yearning for freedom, dreams, and pursuits. That is because we can plan for tomorrow and next year; but for Chiou Ho-shun, not only has he been detained the longest, but ever since his death sentence was finalized in 2011, he could be executed at any moment, constantly facing a state of 'having no tomorrow.' I want to appeal here to President Tsai Ing-wen to halt the execution of Chiou Ho-shun's death sentence and to pardon and release him in accordance with the law. Nine years ago when I made this film, I had a wish: I hoped that after he was acquitted and released, I could take him out to eat rice meatballs in the air of freedom."
CHOU Yu-hsiu, Chairperson of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, stated that Chiou Ho-shun has been detained in the Taipei Detention Center for over thirty years, marking the longest deprivation of personal criminal liberty in our nation's history. This action by our country has long been deemed by many international human rights experts to violate the prohibition against torture. Furthermore, this case still has numerous unresolved controversies, and given the long time that has passed since the incident occurred, evaluating some of the evidence has become difficult. Let alone the fact that after 30 years, Chiou Ho-shun's physical and mental condition is much worse than before. For all these reasons, it is imperative to pardon Chiou Ho-shun.
CHOU I-lin, Secretary General of Amnesty International Taiwan, stated that Amnesty International has launched a global rescue campaign for Chiou Ho-shun, which has thus far gathered at least 40,000 signatures and actions from countries around the world, with sections from at least 13 countries participating in this solidarity action. Some sections have directly mailed letters to President Tsai Ing-wen. Chiou Ho-shun is one of Taiwan's longest-detained death row inmates. On his 60th birthday, April 7, we launched this year's solidarity action with the sole purpose of demanding a presidential pardon. In addition to the 40,000 actions collected thus far, we will continue to ask national sections to keep signing petitions and writing letters to President Tsai Ing-wen. Amnesty International calls upon President Tsai Ing-wen to immediately pardon Chiou Ho-shun.
Chiou Ho-shun has been imprisoned in the Taipei Detention Center for as long as 32 years. The willpower yearning for freedom is incomparably steadfast, yet for a long time it has been unable to pierce through the high walls to deliver this resolute message to the President. If the ride from the detention center to the Office of the President takes 2 hours, then Chiou Ho-shun's ongoing struggle for freedom has already lasted 281,380 hours! (Counting from his detention at the Hsinchu Detention Center on the morning of April 7, 1988)
The "starting point" and "destination" of the "Riding for Chiou Ho-shun's Freedom" action precisely symbolize the "starting point" and "destination" of Chiou Ho-shun's lost personal liberty. We believe in / hope that President Tsai Ing-wen will act with the height of her stature to draw a historically significant conclusion to the injustice suffered by Chiou Ho-shun.
Attachments
Attendees in Solidarity
YU Po-hsiang / Convener, Chiou Ho-shun Pro Bono Legal Team
SU Ping-k'un / Victim of a miscarriage of justice, pardoned by the president in 2000
LIN Wei-lien / Social Education Committee, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
FENG Hsien-hsien / Member, National Judicial Reform Conference
HO Chao-ti / Director
CHOU Yu-hsiu / Chairperson, Taiwan Association for Human Rights
CHOU I-lin / Secretary General, Amnesty International Taiwan
HSU Tzu-chiang / Victim of a death penalty miscarriage of justice
CHENG Hsing-tse / Victim of a death penalty miscarriage of justice
LEE Chia-hua / Director
LIN Hung-wen / Member, Chiou Ho-shun Pro Bono Legal Team
KUO Hao-jen / Member, Chiou Ho-shun Pro Bono Legal Team
SHIH Yi-hsiang / Secretary General, Taiwan Association for Human Rights
WU Ting-chen / Media and Marketing Specialist, Taiwan Association for Human Rights
PAN Yi / East Asia Program Officer, International Federation for Human Rights
LO Shih-hsiang / Executive Director, Taiwan Innocence Project
LIN Hsin-yi / Executive Director, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
WU Chia-chen / Deputy Executive Director, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
WANG Hao-han / Executive Secretary, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
LUO Li-han / Executive Secretary, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
황이비 (HUANG I-pi) / Executive Director, Covenants Watch
YANG Kang / Researcher, Covenants Watch
HUANG Chih-hsien / Executive Director, Taiwan Innocents Action
LIN Ping-chuan / Deputy Secretary General, Taiwan Association for Criminal Jury Trials
CHANG Feng-yi / Executive Director, Taiwan Labor and Social Policy Research Association
WANG Jung / Senior Advocacy Specialist, Amnesty International Taiwan
HUANG Chung-chun / Senior Advocacy Specialist, Amnesty International Taiwan
WANG Ting-chun / Advocacy Specialist, Amnesty International Taiwan
YANG Shu-wei / Director of Education and Promotion Department, Taiwan Labour Front
HUNG Ching-shu / Director of Policy Department, Taiwan Labour Front
LIAO Chia-yu / Executive Secretary, Judicial Reform Foundation (Taiwan Association for Implementing International Human Rights Covenants / Assoc. Taiwan)
CHEN Yen-geng / Staff Attorney, Judicial Reform Foundation
CHEN Mei-hui / Deputy Director, Organization and Advocacy Department, Judicial Reform Foundation
TSAI Meng-chu / Visual Designer, Judicial Reform Foundation
CHANG Chih / Regional Advocacy Specialist, Judicial Reform Foundation
Press Contacts
CHANG Chih / Regional Advocacy Specialist, Judicial Reform Foundation
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.