JRF Newsletter
Former Police Officer Ming-Cun Lo | The Man Who Never Saw Exoneration, and the Songs That Still Resonate
Last edited: 2026-09-01
Ming-Cun Lo served as the head of the criminal investigation division of the Taipei County Police Department's Xinzhuang Precinct in 1997. As the youngest division head at the time, he was a rising star in police circles. However, a bribery case stemming from a shooting incident completely changed his life—the court concluded that he had accepted 500,000 NTD in bribes from organized crime to shield the true perpetrator of the shooting and let a teenager take the fall.
Ming-Cun Lo's case suffered from numerous problems: a lack of physical evidence; the investigation station using entrapment, threats, and inducements on witnesses; flawed identifications; and the acceptance of a problematic lie detector report, among others. Furthermore, regarding the time the court determined Lo met with the briber and received the money, he provided an alibi supported not only by the police station's meeting sign-in sheet but also by his firearm checkout record. Yet, the court of fact ultimately stated that even with the testimony of his colleagues and the sign-in sheet from the police project meeting, Lo could still have "arranged things properly to sneak out at an opportune moment," sentencing him to 13 years in prison for accepting bribes in breach of official duties.
"Calling me, calling me, the twilight hometown is constantly calling me"
Unable to accept being wrongfully imprisoned, Ming-Cun Lo chose judicial disobedience for over a decade. It was not until May 2020, due to the pandemic and health concerns, that he returned to Taiwan upon the persuasion of his family and lawyer to surrender and begin serving his sentence.
His daughter shared that Lo's life alone abroad was difficult; feeling that all the family's money had been spent on legal fees and not wanting to burden them further, he would often get through the day buying just two 15-NTD breads and a 10-NTD coffee. Naturally a man of few words, having no acquaintances in a foreign place made him even quieter, sometimes going a whole day without speaking a single word.
Like a reclusive old man, eating much the same food every day, wearing earphones alone to listen to Taiwanese songs and watch Taiwanese programs, his hearing becoming somewhat poor, smoking heavily due to a depressed mood, and returning to his living quarters at night to organize case files.
When asked what kind of songs Lo listened to, his daughter said his favorite was Wen Hsia's "Twilight Hometown." She often heard her father singing it since she was a child; the moment the music played, her father would sing with absorption, and it remains his favorite today, perhaps particularly fitting for the sentiment of being in a foreign land unable to return home.
In October of last year (2021), a solidarity event held in front of the Xinzhuang Precinct also brought the song "Twilight Hometown" back to the starting point of the case, tying yellow ribbons—symbolizing longing and returning home—to the trees in a prayer for Ming-Cun Lo to soon walk the path of innocence and exoneration.
Homesick Songs for a Man Unable to Go Home
During every festive season, the longing for those far away grows even more intense. For over a decade of Chinese New Year's Eves, Ming-Cun Lo's presence was missing from the family dining table; on every holiday meant for reunion, Lo was stranded in a foreign place, unable to be with his family.
This Chinese New Year, although Ming-Cun Lo has returned to Taiwan, he remains behind bars. Remembering what his daughter described about Lo wearing earphones listening to music all day long abroad, the volunteer team called his daughter to ask what other songs he liked besides "Twilight Hometown."
Let me think... Hung Jung-hung's "Yearning Person," Huang Yi-ling's "Songs of Life," many songs by Wen Hsia, Chiang Hui, Teresa Teng too, they're all Taiwanese songs...
Thus, the volunteers compiled these songs into a playlist titled "A-ts'un's Homesick Playlist," hoping that through the playlist, everyone could understand the nostalgia and homesickness of Ming-Cun Lo living alone abroad with no home to return to.
Photo: Volunteer Night for the "Lo Ming-ts'un Case", January 26, 2022
Playlist Links
Browsing the tracks on the playlist—"You Must Endure," "Who Knows My Worries," "Father, I Often Miss You," "Mother, Please Take Care Too"—these Taiwanese lyrics seem to voice the helplessness, heartache, and sorrow buried deep within Ming-Cun Lo's heart. Hopefully, listening to these songs can offer a slight release.
When the music finishes playing, there is a feeling of a clenched gut, yet an image always remains in the mind: one day, we will be able to sing these favorite songs together with Ming-Cun Lo, just as Hui Chiang sings in "Gently"
Gently telling, the story of our lives; gently singing, singing all happiness and sorrow; gently cherishing, the pain in your heart.
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.