According to surveys by the Child Welfare League Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation, about half or even a majority of divorced citizens encounter disputes over visiting minor children. Some biased parents, in order to control their children or gain an advantage in litigation, do not hesitate to snatch their children, obstruct their contact with the other parent, and brainwash or alienate them. Meanwhile, the other parent often returns empty-handed—or even suffers a severed parent-child relationship—despite attempting to seek justice through the system or safeguard children's rights. This results in compromised children's rights and child trauma, creating an almost completely losing situation for children, parents, and society alike.

Released in 2021, the documentary "Who Turned My Child into a Stranger" is Taiwan's first local documentary focusing on the difficulties of visitation for minor children in divorced families, featuring interviewed parents denouncing the injustice of society and the system. In 2024, we found several "children" willing to be interviewed, viewing parental conflicts and court procedures from their perspective, and edited their interview clips into a new documentary, "My Parents Are Strangers"!

Through these two documentaries, we hope to provide the public with different perspectives to view these common phenomena and inspire various reflections.

Invited for this screening and discussion is "Hsiao-Mi", an interviewee in the documentary and currently a frontline practitioner in this field. As both a party involved and a professional practitioner, how does she view this social phenomenon?

Moderator

Fern Dad

Panelist

Hsiao-Mi Documentary Interviewee
 

• Time: 02/22 (Sat.) 13:30-16:30
• Location: JRF Taichung Office (10F-2, No. 4-33, Sec. 1, Shuangshi Rd., East Dist., Taichung City)
  
  In-person attendance only, limited to 50 participants. A confirmation letter will be sent by the Taiwan Fathers' Rights Association after registration

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In the corners where the light of the law cannot reach, how do the homeless survive in the cracks of society? How are they shaped by the social system and even reduced to tools for criminal organizations? This lecture invites social worker Yang Hsiao-Wan, author of "Wanderers on the Street", to discuss the roles of the homeless in street scams through frontline observations and research, and how the legal system operates amidst it all—or even overlooks the rights of this group.

This lecture will guide the audience to understand why the homeless are more easily entangled in crime, treated as criminal suspects, or made scapegoats from the perspectives of justice and social welfare, while dissecting the loopholes and room for improvement under the current legal system. We will delve into how investigative police observe the plight of the homeless in fraud syndicates, the black-market economy, and even judicial litigation, thereby reflecting on how the law protects—or harms—the most marginalized groups.

This lecture is not merely a legal discussion, but an in-depth analysis of social phenomena. We invite you to join us in paying attention to these wanderers standing at the legal boundaries.

Speaker

Yang Hsiao-Wan Social Worker at Taiwan International Jubilee Care Association, Author of "Wanderers on the Street"

 

• Time: 03/29 (Sat.) 14:30-16:00
• Location: JRF Taichung Office (10F-2, No. 4-33, Sec. 1, Shuangshi Rd., East Dist., Taichung City)
  Online/in-person participation available. In-person attendance limited to 50 participants; livestream links will be sent to the waiting list

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In 2016, Cheng Hsing-tse walked out of death row, becoming the first death row prisoner in Taiwan's judicial history for whom a retrial was initiated by a prosecutor. Fourteen years of imprisonment completely erased his social existence; getting an ID card, buying new clothes, and working hard were his first steps toward reclaiming himself. During the lengthy process of retrial proceedings, he met many people and experienced many events, piecing himself back together fragment by fragment.

After more than a year of trials, the retrial finally delivered an acquittal, and justice cleared his name. However, he remained preoccupied with a child he had encountered years ago—the child he met when, after being tortured and shackled, he was escorted by police to a funeral home to pay respects to a fallen police officer. He could not forget that child's gaze, the look of someone who believed he was the murderer of his father.

Counting the years, that child should now be a grown adult and likely has a job. I wonder how he is doing now? Even after all these years, has everything truly passed with the final acquittal? If possible, he would like to meet that child, and from then on, forget each other.

April 12 is an important milestone in the Cheng Hsing-tse case. For this screening, we have invited prosecutor Chen Hsing-min (then in office), who initiated the retrial for this case, to serve as a panelist and chat about those days of meeting and letting go alongside Cheng Hsing-tse and documentary director Shih Yu-lun.

Panelist

Chen Hsing-min Director-General, Yilan Branch, Administrative Enforcement Agency, Ministry of Justice

Panelist

Cheng Hsing-tse Wrongful Conviction Exoneree

Panelist

Shih Yu-lun Director of the Film

 

• Time: 04/12 (Sat.) 14:00-16:30
• Location: JRF Taichung Office (10F-2, No. 4-33, Sec. 1, Shuangshi Rd., East Dist., Taichung City)
  In-person attendance only, limited to 50 participants. Excess registrations will be placed on the waiting list

This session has ended

A "leash" is not merely a strap in an owner's hand, but also a symbol and an action. When news of a dog attacking someone breaks, we often immediately blame the owner and condemn the animal. Yet behind these emotional reactions lie deeper issues worth pondering: What responsibilities should an owner truly bear? Does the law genuinely provide clear regulations? Can current systems truly safeguard the safety of both humans and animals?

At the legal level, dog-bite incidents often involve more than just emotions—they encompass civil, criminal, and even administrative liabilities. What legal risks might an owner face? If someone fights back for self-defense, could they also break the law? How should responsibilities be defined between free-roaming and loss of control? Even when laws are written clearly, not everyone may understand them.

Beyond the law, we also wish to discuss everyday life: Why do some owners neglect management responsibilities? Why does owner education always lag behind the growth in pet populations? In frontline policy implementation and animal protection work, what other issues are closely tied to feeding attitudes or even abandonment? When systems remain incomplete, how do civil society organizations strive to patch the gaps?

This lecture aims to do more than assign blame for "when things go wrong"; we want to jointly understand at the root how these issues form and ponder how society can change together. Whether you are a pet owner, a parent, a friend concerned about public issues, or simply feeling unsettled by the news and eager to learn more, this dialogue invites you to listen and chat—perhaps you will discover a small step you can take yourself.

Speaker

Chen Po-yen Director, Po-Le Law Firm

Speaker

Tai Chun-che Secretary-General, Taiwan Animal Equality Association

 

• Time: 07/12 (Sat.) 14:00-16:00
• Location: JRF Taichung Office (10F-2, No. 4-33, Sec. 1, Shuangshi Rd., East Dist., Taichung City)
  Online/in-person participation available. In-person attendance limited to 30 participants; livestream links will be sent to the waiting list
  

This session has ended