Statement | What Was Handcuffed Along with the Social Worker Was Our Human Rights: Uphold the Rule of Law and Eradicate the Systemic Incentives for Police Violations!
Last edited: 2026-07-27
In response to the incident on March 12 where a social worker was handcuffed, which caused a public uproar, a joint statement initiated by our Foundation was joined by over 220 organizations within two days (for the list of signatories, please refer to the link). How can we prevent the social worker handcuffing incident from recurring in the future? How can this incident concretely bring about systemic reform? Our Foundation issues the following two-point statement:
I. Eradicating the incentives to violate the principle of non-publicity of investigation and establishing a performance reform committee are key; the Legislative Yuan should convene public hearings on legal amendments to promptly implement the resolutions of the 2017 National Judicial Reform Conference:
The principle of non-publicity of investigation aims to safeguard people's privacy and their fundamental right to a fair trial, and is a foundational principle of our Code of Criminal Procedure. In 2019, in response to the chaos of the "extensive publicizing" of investigations, our country promulgated amendments to the Directions on the Non-Publicity of Investigations; however, in recent years, no improvement in compliance has been seen.
Examining the causes, the stalled reform of the "police performance evaluation system" is the most critical factor. Taking the handcuffing of the social worker in this case as an example, although the police admitted to negligence and reprimanded the precinct captain, they shifted their focus to the exposure of restraints while glossing over the fact that they "paraded the defendant down the red carpet" in violation of the provisions in the Directions on the Non-Publicity of Investigations regarding improperly subjecting defendants to media coverage. In fact, footage of "parading defendants down the red carpet" is neither rare nor an isolated, individual, or occasional minor lapse; rather, it is a common practice employed by the police to capture media attention and strive for performance metrics.
Although our Foundation has continuously called on relevant authorities to conduct a systematic review of the situations where police and investigative agencies violate the principle of non-publicity of investigation and excessively pursue performance metrics whenever "extensive publicizing of investigations" incidents occur (see the appendix for details), to this day our country still lacks specific regulations targeting the performance system. Not only is there no external participation in setting performance targets, but the content and methods of the regulations also fail to be subjected to external review regarding their necessity and reasonableness.
In this regard, our Foundation will simultaneously send official documents to all legislators of the Internal Administration Committee, calling on the Legislative Yuan to convene public hearings on legal amendments to promptly implement the resolutions of the 2017 National Judicial Reform Conference concerning the reform of the performance system, making performance arrangements fair, legalized, and rationalized, and thoroughly eradicating the systemic incentives for violating the Directions on the Non-Publicity of Investigations.
II. Beyond relying on performance system reform, the supervision of handcuffing and other unlawful enforcement methods entails a responsibility for the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan to accelerate the passage and implementation of our country's Enforcement Act of the Convention against Torture:
Aside from the principle of non-publicity of investigation, what brought collective trauma to the social work community in this social worker handcuffing incident was the police handcuffing the social worker—who posed no flight risk or aggressive behavior—and publicly exposing the use of handcuffs (restraints). Even afterward, in explaining the proportionality principle regarding the use of handcuffs (restraints), they continued to mislead the public with the erroneous notion that "the police had an arrest warrant, therefore they could use handcuffs"!
That the police so blatantly turned a blind eye to the justifications and proportionality principles for police use of restraints stipulated in Article 89-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 7 of the Regulations Governing the Use of Restraints in Executing Apprehensions, Arrests, and Escorts clearly demonstrates that our police forces still lack sufficient awareness of the "proper exercise of public authority."
Similarly, in 2018, the New Taipei City Police Department's "Slayer Project" fabricated documents to fraudulently obtain arrest warrants, severely undermining the credibility of judicial due process; in 2021, during a corruption and malfeasance trial in the Keelung District Court, frontline police officers confessed that they were bullied by their supervisors over performance issues and thus resorted to collusive and illegal methods to secure drug-related performance metrics; in 2023, the Miaoli County Police Department launched a targeted operation to crack down on runaway migrant workers, leading to the unlawful arrest of an innocent youth of the "new immigrant second-generation." These endless cases make people question whether the police are capable of performing their duties in "compliance with the rule of law" under the current institutional environment. Furthermore, improper law enforcement often directly infringes upon ordinary citizens' right to personal freedom; as seen in the aforementioned cases, the improper infringement of personal freedom fosters the emergence of torture or inhuman treatment.
In response to this, aside from calling for the establishment of a performance reform committee, our Foundation reiterates that the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan have the responsibility to accelerate the passage and implementation of our country's Enforcement Act of the Convention against Torture. The Executive Yuan should submit the bill as soon as possible during this legislative session, and the Legislative Yuan must not delay the process of scheduling and reviewing bills.
As a state governed by the rule of law, the people of Taiwan ought to enjoy the rights and freedoms conferred by law. Whether it is the legislative, executive, or law enforcement departments, all should work together to safeguard people's fundamental rights and jointly uphold the core values of Taiwan's rule of law society.
Statement Contact Persons
Legal Specialist Ch'en Kuan-chen olivia@jrf.org.tw
Appendix: List of Statements on Non-Publicity of Investigation by Our Foundation (Ordered Chronologically)
| No. | Statement Date | Statement Title | Link |
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1 |
2005.05.30 |
Police Love to Show Off, Gold Medals Rust! ~ Criticizing the Police for Violating the "Principle of Non-Publicity of Investigation" |
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2 |
2005.12.14 |
No Matter How Bad I Am, You Cannot Watch Me Use the Restroom! |
Press Conference on "No Matter How Bad I Am, You Cannot Watch Me Use the Restroom!" |
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3 |
2006.03.23 |
"Presumption of Innocence" and "Non-Publicity of Investigation" Torn Between "Facts and Truth" and "People's Rights" ~ Joint Statement on the TRA Derailment Case |
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4 |
2008.11.29 |
Statement by Our Foundation Regarding the Outbreak of Numerous Socially Prominent Major Corruption Cases Domestically |
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5 |
2018.03.08 |
The "Leaker" That Can Never Be Caught! ~ Petitioning Control Yuan Members to Impeach Prosecutors, Police, and Investigation Officers Who Violated Non-Publicity of Investigation in the "Mama Mouth Case" and the "Bogus Chinese Spy Case" |
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6 |
2018.06.13 |
When Police, Suspects, and Citizens Are Forced to Become Actors ~ Police Production of the "Love and Blood" Video Violates Non-Publicity of Investigation |
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7 |
2020.04.14 |
Eliminating the Law Enforcement Environment That Breeds Violence ~ Three-Point Statement by the Judicial Reform Foundation on the Zhonghe Police Brutality Incident |
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8 |
2020.04.30 |
The Government's Lenient Treatment of the Zhonghe Police Head-Stomping Incident Encourages State Violence to Become Routine |
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9 |
2021.10.13 |
Frontline Police Refuse to Be "Utility Men"! Press Conference on Returning Police Affairs to Professionalism |
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10 |
2021.10.13 |
Willing to Violate Non-Publicity of Investigation Just to Grab Media Headlines? Demanding the Prompt Establishment of a Police Performance Management Committee |
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11 |
2022.06.22 |
Improper Stop-and-Frisk and Abuse of Handcuffs Against Migrant Worker Lead to Conviction of Police Officers for Interference with Personal Liberty ~ Civil Organizations Call on Police to Cease Discriminatory Law Enforcement Against Migrant Workers |
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12 |
2022.7.25 |
Regarding the Nantou Shooting Incident, Urging Prosecutors and Police to Comply with the Principle of Non-Publicity of Investigation |
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13 |
2022.8.24 |
Enhancing the Law Enforcement Culture of Rigorous Case Handling and Strictly Complying with Regulations on Non-Publicity of Investigation | Statement by the Judicial Reform Foundation Regarding the Investigation of the Tainan Police-Killing Incident |
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14 |
2023.05.26 |
Abuse of Power by Zhongli Precinct Officers Recurs; Relevant Authorities Should Promptly Investigate and Handle to Demonstrate Determination to Improve |
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15 |
2024.01.26 |
New Taipei City Criminal Investigation Corps Releases Search Footage, Violating Non-Publicity of Investigation —— Must Review and Explain Publicly to Prevent the Recurrence of the "Extensive Publicizing of Investigation" Phenomenon |
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16 |
2024.02.23 |
17-Year-Old Youth Subjected to Collective Torture and Coerced Confession by Police Officers ｜ Civil Organizations Call: End Torture; Passing the Enforcement Act of the Convention against Torture is Urgent |
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17 |
2024.02.29 |
Human Rights Conventions Cannot Pass, When Will Police Violence Cease? Action Statement by Civil Organizations Regarding the Pingtung County Police Bureau Officers' Suspected Beating of a Suspect to Death Incident |
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18 |
2024.03.13 |
Human Rights Conventions Cannot Pass, When Will Police Violence... |
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19 |
2024.03.13 |
Violating Non-Publicity of Investigation Fails to Protect Children's Lives. CWLF Social Worker Handcuffed and Led Away: What Is the Justification? |
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This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.