Sidelights | When the Law Steps into the Classroom: How the Judicial Reform Foundation Promotes Legal Education

A Legal Class Tailored for Students

Before attending this lecture, I had never thought about why legal education courses needed to be specifically designed for students who have yet to step into society. Just as some students might think that daily campus life has nothing to do with serious judicial issues, the truth is that with social and technological development, many emerging issues derived from them are quietly entering students' lives. Knowing how to protect oneself and fight for one's rightful interests has become a major lesson for modern students.

Lesson 1: Campus Moot Court

The term "moot court" is a transliteration from English. The function of a campus moot court is to let students play case roles and conduct trial proceedings, with witnesses undergoing cross-examination by the prosecution and defense in court, and judges directing the litigation proceedings, allowing participating students to experience the court trial process.

Common types of trials generally include criminal and family (civil) cases, and courtroom layouts vary across countries around the world. The core focus of discussion during a trial is whether the existing evidence can persuade the judge and jury, understand the case content from an all-encompassing perspective, and consequently make a determination of guilt or innocence for the parties involved.

In Taiwan and the courts of most countries, the principle of presumption of innocence is adopted, meaning that prosecutors bear the responsibility of presenting evidence to prove the defendant's guilty, and defense attorneys then argue on behalf of the defendant. The intention behind adopting the presumption of innocence is that even if the justice system fails to punish actual perpetrators, it is less likely for an innocent person to become a scapegoat. If a presumption of guilt were adopted, it would be highly likely for the true culprit to remain at large while an innocent victim suffers instead—embodying the spirit that it is better to let a guilty person go free than to wrongfully execute an innocent one.

Lesson 2: C5H5Na

To most people, the chemical formula C5H5Na holds no special meaning, and they might not even understand what chemical element it represents. However, a few years ago, a high school in Taiwan used this chemical formula to name a school anniversary fair booth "Huan-Na (“a derogatory term for Indigenous people”)," a pronunciation similar to the Taiwanese Hokkien racial slur "Ssu-Fan-Tzu," subsequently causing an ethnic discrimination controversy.

The reason this incident is brought up is that the campus is a miniature society comprising diverse groups. Especially beyond the two common groups of Han Chinese and Indigenous peoples, an increasing number of second-generation new residents have entered campuses in recent years. Therefore, the issues of respecting and embracing multiculturalism are receiving growing attention.

However, the discriminatory issues that might be encountered on campus do not stop there. For instance, children going through puberty are also very sensitive to gender issues such as sexual organs or secondary sexual characteristics. Beyond teaching children correct concepts of sexuality, peers must also be taught not to give others nicknames containing discriminatory connotations.

Lesson 3: Sexual Imagery

With the advancement of internet technology, a growing number of male and female teenagers choose to make friends in the virtual world. Nevertheless, although the internet makes making friends much easier, it simultaneously brings some hidden risks.

Aside from financial losses, common cases involve even more severe situations such as personal scams. In the internet world, certain individuals easily fall into romance scams due to sweet words from online friends. Once the timing is ripe, these romance scammers may make unreasonable demands, such as taking private images or demanding nude video chats. If victims refuse, the other party may resort to a mix of soft and hard tactics to cajole them. If victims then soften their stance, they fall into the trap of this scam. Yet, once they comply with these demands, victims find it even harder to extricate themselves, ultimately paying an even greater price in both personal and financial terms.

Therefore, while enjoying the convenience of online dating, one must always keep in mind the importance of protecting one's personal safety. Temporary soft-heartedness often plunges oneself into an inescapable dilemma. It is strongly recommended to maintain a high level of vigilance when making friends in the internet world, avoid easily revealing personal privacy information, and never blindly trust netizens' sweet talk and unreasonable requests. When the other party makes any requests involving money, private images, or offline meetings, be sure to double-check their true intentions and discuss them with trusted family and friends.

Lesson 4: Striving Leads to Winning

As the saying goes, in life, striving leads to winning. While applying this phrase to most situations in life is unproblematic, misinterpreting the meaning of this adage will not only have negative impacts on others but may also land oneself in a lawsuit.

A quick internet search reveals many cases of improper pursuit. In June 2022, Taiwan also officially implemented the Stalking and Harassment Prevention Act, hoping to use legal constraints to curb the occurrence of improper pursuit behaviors. This is because pursuing others through wrong methods is not only futile, but also causes the other party to experience shock and extreme psychological pressure. Therefore, we ought to respect the wishes and feelings of others, interacting with people in a rational and appropriate manner to jointly foster a safe and mutually respectful social environment.

Lesson 5: Under Sixteen Years Old

Sixteen years old is the watershed for safeguarding sexual autonomy in our country. Unlike most civic rights or legal responsibilities that use eighteen years old as the dividing line, engaging in sexual activity with another person before the party is sixteen years old constitutes the offense of obstruction of sexual autonomy. Therefore, one must be extremely cautious when dating or even pursuing others: even with both parties' consent, having sex with someone under the age of 16 still violates the provisions on offenses against sexual autonomy in the Criminal Code. This law aims to protect the physical and mental health of minors, preventing them from suffering improper violations or impacts regarding sexuality, serving as an important societal safeguard for minors' rights.

Furthermore, the establishment of this law embodies society's high regard for minors' right to sexual autonomy. Considering that adolescents under sixteen may not yet be mature in physical and mental development, social experience, and judgment capabilities, the law specifically sets up this defense line to prevent them from engaging in sexual activity prematurely while ignorant or enticed, thereby causing long-term adverse impacts on their physical and mental development. Consequently, this regulation does not merely focus on whether the act stems from consent, but more importantly protects minors from sexual risks and harms.

Post-Lecture Reflection

This legal education course designed for students who have yet to enter society is like a window gradually being opened, allowing our students to see that legal issues, which originally seemed distant, are actually lurking in our daily lives and on campus in various unexpected ways. Before the lecture, I actually held the notion that campus life and those serious judicial issues seemed to belong to two different worlds. However, after experiencing these five meticulously designed classes, I discovered that with the rapid development of society and technology, many emerging legal concepts and risks have long quietly infiltrated ordinary campus life. Therefore, learning how to protect oneself and fight for rightful interests has undoubtedly become an indispensable lesson for contemporary and future students.