Stepping Stones on Ch'en Ching-k'ai's Path to Exoneration ｜ Legal Bricks: An Interview with Attorney Yang Cheng-hua

The arrival of a person is earth-shattering
He brings his past and his present
Even the future arrives along with them
It is the arrival of a person's entire lifetime
It is the arrival of his fragile or long-shattered heart
Perhaps only the wind can soothe the tangled thoughts within the heart
If my heart can be like that soothing wind
I will surely treat you with true sentiment

── Cheng Hsüan-tsung, Visitor

The encounter between a wrongfully accused defendant, a defense attorney, and rescue organizations always takes place at life-and-death, precarious moments. And once they meet, it is as if they have pledged their lives to one another, entrusting their lives and trust without reservation—and with no way to hold back. Such is the relationship between Attorney Yang Cheng-hua and Ch'en Ching-k'ai. She has provided pro bono assistance on Ch'en Ching-k'ai's case for nearly ten years, participating in every battle, and every development or shifting wind in the case constantly tugs at her heartstrings. To her, the case is not merely a legal matter, but the embodiment of her pursuit and imagination of justice and equity.

Entering the Blind Welfare Foundation Because of Her Husband, and Accidentally Encountering the Ch'en Case

The story of how Attorney Yang and Ch'en Ching-k'ai's paths crossed begins with Nordic walking and the Blind Welfare Foundation. Because of knee degeneration, Attorney Yang's husband had to stop running after years of doing so. Searching far and wide for alternative exercises, he discovered Nordic walking. Benefiting from the sport, her husband felt more people should know about it and hoped to promote it, but his work was simply too busy. Consequently, Attorney Yang took up this aspiration and began preparations to establish the Taiwan Nordic Walking Association.

During the process of establishing the association, scholars from the Taipei Physical Education College contacted the association, suggesting that Nordic walking is a sport well-suited for individuals with physical and mental disabilities, and that it might improve their physical fitness—particularly for the visually impaired. After several discussions, the two sides decided to launch a cooperative project. From September to November 2012, a three-month training program consisting of one session per week was conducted for the trainees at the Hsinchuang Blind Welfare Foundation. Because of this project, Attorney Yang stepped into the Blind Welfare Foundation as the chairperson of the association. Every Thursday, she would carry walking poles, bring them for the trainees to use, and help guide the trainees' walking posture.

In mid-2012, Ch'en Ching-k'ai was proactively contacted by the Southern Center of the Blind Welfare Foundation's Southern Branch, which suggested he receive visual impairment rehabilitation services. With a mixture of skepticism and hope, Ch'en accepted the suggestion. Upon entering the Southern Branch, during his very first orientation and mobility class, he attempted to cross the street at a safe intersection, yet hesitated for 20 minutes without daring to take a single step. Observing Ch'en's timidity, fear, and bewildered anxiety about the future, the staff at the Southern Branch referred him to the Hsinchuang Main Branch for residential training to receive more in-depth and comprehensive courses, as well as to help him meet more visually impaired friends, increase interpersonal interactions, and boost his motivation for rehabilitation.

When the three-month Nordic walking training concluded, the foundation held a seminar and invited the participating visually impaired individuals to share their feedback. During this seminar, the foundation unexpectedly learned that she was a lawyer. Consequently, after the meeting, Deputy Director Chang and Director Yang Su-tuan both approached her and brought up a fellow student at the rehabilitation center: Ch'en Ching-k'ai.

Devoted to Love, Providing Pro Bono Assistance for Ten Years

The teachers at the rehabilitation center, who spent day and night with Ch'en Ching-k'ai, found it incomprehensible why Ch'en was accused of faking blindness and hoped Attorney Yang could provide him with professional legal assistance. Attorney Yang recalled her observations of Ch'en over the previous three months; although his movements were more agile than those of the other trainees, they were still distinctly different from those of a normally sighted person.

At the end of 2012, Attorney Yang arranged to meet Ch'en Ching-k'ai at the rehabilitation center to understand the circumstances of the case. At that time, Ch'en already had two lawyers assisting him—one retained by his parents and another arranged by the rehabilitation center. Although he already had two lawyers, Attorney Yang assessed the situation and judged it to be less than optimistic: "Having one more lawyer and one more brain is always helpful." Furthermore, to avoid increasing his financial burden, she agreed to assist pro bono. That single decision lasted ten years.

Coincidentally, her husband's business was expanding in Kaohsiung, leaving the couple with too little time together as they lived separately in the north and south. Highly valuing her family, Attorney Yang resolutely wound down her legal practice, which she had run in Taipei for many years, and relocated to settle in Kaohsiung. Speaking of this, Attorney Yang's voice grew slightly choked with emotion: "I am a family-oriented person. In fact, throughout my growth, there were many opportunities for success along the way, but I chose to give them up. When I was studying abroad in the United States, I originally planned to continue on to a doctoral program, but my children were too young and my husband was too busy, so I chose to return to Taiwan and give up my studies." After returning to Kaohsiung, Attorney Yang went to work at the factory run by her husband. "It turns out I had a mission coming to Kaohsiung. God dispatched me for this mission, and with the advantage of geography, invisibly, God made certain arrangements.">

After moving to Kaohsiung, Attorney Yang visited the two lawyers who had been assisting Ch'en Ching-k'ai and began plunging into the litigation work of the case, holding court session after court session just like that. "During the court of first instance, the judge told us, 'Attorney Yang, you have all been deceived and you still don't know it? Look at that activity video, you have all been deceived. Consider whether to plead guilty; if you plead guilty, the sentence will be light.'" The court of first instance delivered a guilty verdict, sentencing him to a combined term of four years and four months of imprisonment. "The maximum penalty for fraud is only five years, and four years and four months is truly heavy and terrifying..."

From "Did You Lie to Me After All?" to "I Am Willing to Keep Fighting for You"

After losing his sight, Ch'en Ching-k'ai, with the assistance of his teachers at the rehabilitation center, came into contact with blind baseball and became a player, earning the opportunity to travel to the United States to participate in the World Cup tournament. Since it was rare to visit the United States, everyone encouraged him to seek medical treatment there and get a re-confirmation. Through the medical treatment process, he indirectly learned about Professor Chang Yin from National Yang-Ming University's Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Dr. Chao Hsiao-ming from Cheng Hsin General Hospital. Upon returning to Taiwan, a special education teacher took Ch'en Ching-k'ai for an outpatient visit. After conducting various tests and evaluations, Dr. Chao concluded that Ch'en was blind. Prior to the first-instance judgment, the defense team obtained this document and thus requested the court to summon Dr. Chao to testify and explain, and to take this medical certificate into consideration. However, the court had already formed its judicial conviction at the time and did not accept the defense team's request.

Under such litigation pressure, the strong-willed Attorney Yang also wavered at one point. After the guilty verdict in the first instance, she sternly questioned Ching-k'ai: "Tell me formally, are you blind or not? Did you lie to me after all? Are you using me?!" After hearing Ch'en Ching-k'ai's reply, she made her decision once more: "I am willing to keep fighting for you." After the case entered the second instance, Attorney Yang sought support externally and met Attorney Li Ping-hung of the Legal Aid Foundation. Attorney Li also joined the litigation, and Ch'en's family additionally helped retain another lawyer, forming the litigation team for the second instance.

"I Felt Studying Law Was Useless; I Even Wrote a Will, Wanting to Proclaim It to the World"

During a high school reunion, Attorney Yang brought up Ch'en Ching-k'ai's situation. One of her classmates, who happened to teach in the Department of Psychology at National Taiwan University, mentioned the specialty of visual science. Although this classmate was not a scholar in that field and had limited knowledge of visual science, there was an expert in visual science in the department—Professor Chien-Chung Chen, who served as a visiting professor in the NTU Department of Psychology and might be able to give her answers.

Attorney Yang visited Professor Chien-Chung Chen and explained the situation of the case, asking, "What exactly is Ch'en Ching-k'ai's visual system functionality like?" Professor Chien-Chung Chen stated that scientifically, there were certain experimental designs and testing methods capable of confirming this. Consequently, the defense team applied to the court for an appraisal of Ch'en Ching-k'ai's visual system functionality, and this appraisal provided the case with a more advanced scientific foundation.

As the second-instance litigation unfolded, this time with Professor Chang Yin, Dr. Chao Hsiao-ming, and Professor Chien-Chung Chen, multiple experts and scholars came to court to testify and explain. "This was truly touching." "Whenever people mentioned which ophthalmologist was brilliant, I would rush there, register for outpatient visits on my own, and ask doctors questions. Even when there was no health insurance and I had to pay out of pocket, I went. But as soon as I revealed my identity as a lawyer, many people refused and were unwilling to appear in court—who would want to muddy these waters?" "They are all busy people who have achieved success in their professional fields, yet they were willing to take the High Speed Rail and come into the courtroom to explain. I am truly exceptionally grateful."

Nevertheless, the appearance of multiple experts still failed to convince the court. The second instance ruled a sentence of one year and two months—a lighter penalty, but still guilty. Receiving such an outcome on the eve of the Lunar New Year, Attorney Yang found it completely unacceptable. "Where is justice? Can the scope of a judge's discretionary power be this vast?" "I felt studying law was useless. During the New Year holiday, I couldn't celebrate the Lunar New Year at all; I even wrote a will, wanting to proclaim it to the world." After sinking into despair for several consecutive days, Attorney Yang reorganized her thoughts, picked up her walking poles, and returned to her most beloved exercise, walking around the lake near her home at night. Looking at the surrounding scenery, flowers, plants, and trees, she walked and walked until she anchored herself. "Suddenly, I sobered up. No matter how things were on the outside, they no longer mattered." "To pursue a value, solely for the sake of something beautiful that could benefit everyone—one lifetime is enough."

Like That Soothing Wind

Many pivotal choices in her life were set in motion by others—her children, her husband, her family, earthquake victims, and defendants in wrongful conviction cases. "Accepting" and "fulfilling" seem to be built into her very being, acting almost as reflexes. Every time one meets Attorney Yang, she greets them warmly and checks on their health, just like a mother. Her care radiates from the inside out, extending from individuals to society at large.

Throughout the interview, Attorney Yang repeatedly mentioned her husband, who passed away earlier this year. To her, he was both a partner and a close confidant: "I am especially grateful to my husband. In participating in these pro bono cases—such as the victims of the 'Doctor's Family' building collapse in Hsinchuang during the 921 earthquake, as well as the Ch'en Ching-k'ai case—no matter how busy or arduous the process was, he never stopped me; he only encouraged me and asked me to do my utmost to handle them. His character was upright and open. In this life, having good friends with such similar values is quite enough for me."