Judicial Reform at 30, A Preview of Major Events

Dear friend, we hope you are enjoying the Lunar New Year holiday.

Thank you for supporting and following JRF over the past year, and for weathering every storm alongside us. This year, JRF officially reaches its 30th anniversary. Several projects are already in full swing, and once we return to work after the New Year, we will devote ourselves fully to the tasks ahead.

We are delighted to share that the exhibition we have been planning since last year — "Becoming an Ordinary Person: the Judicial Reform Foundation's 30th Anniversary Special Exhibition" — will open in March. It not only presents the challenges and achievements of past judicial reform, but also reflects on our present position and future direction. Reform begins with human suffering, and every push for change carries real, lived stories. We sincerely invite you to come and see it — to feel both the pain and the hope, to witness how those who once searched for light in the darkness sparked opportunities for change, and to consider with us how, in these ever-shifting times, we can stand firm and build a diverse and equal future.

As we welcome the Year of the Snake, we wish you success in all that you do, along with health, peace, and every good fortune.

"Becoming an Ordinary Person": 30th Anniversary Special Exhibition in Taichung

Have you ever imagined what kind of person you would want to be at thirty? Through reflection and anticipation, this exhibition invites visitors to see how three decades of judicial reform in Taiwan have brought about change — turning many important rights into the everyday reality of every "ordinary person" — and to see the footprints left by those who struggled along the way, footprints that others have followed to open new paths of change for the future. The exhibition is a tribute to the past and, still more, a collective vision for the future of judicial reform.

No one had imagined that becoming an ordinary person could be so difficult. Su Chien-ho, the first person in Taiwan to be exonerated from a wrongful death sentence, once said: "I hope that in my lifetime, I will no longer need to explain who I am." The case of Su Chien-ho and his two co-defendants became the catalyst for Taiwan’s first wave of criminal procedure reform; it became teaching material in the high-school curriculum, the first wrongful conviction that law students ever hear about, and the case most often cited in our campus talks. "When I was tortured, my younger brother was not even married yet; now he is already a grandfather, but I am still marking time in the same spot. Of course I know the judiciary today is not what it once was — but do not treat me as if I were thin air. I am still fighting my case; that is a fact. I keep a low profile, but I am still striving. I ask everyone to work together with us."

Extraordinary forces of change make possible the ordinary happiness of ordinary people. Over three decades, JRF has gathered the strength of many from the bottom up, turning what was once an extraordinary picture of justice into today’s ordinary normality — while watching to ensure that the rights most people now take for granted are also universally protected for vulnerable groups. Though the work is unfinished, it has never stopped. We keep our promise, and we move toward the future.

⭐ Booking required.
Dates: Friday, 7 March 2025 to Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 13:30–20:00; Saturday 11:00–17:00
Venue: the JRF Taichung Office, 10F-2, No. 4-33, Sec. 1, Shuangshi Rd., East District, Taichung City.

"Becoming an Ordinary Person": Taichung Office Youth Volunteers Wanted

The JRF Taichung Office has been holding exhibitions since 2021 and places particular emphasis on the importance of rule-of-law education in central Taiwan. This year, the Taichung Office has moved to a new space, and we hope for more opportunities to collaborate with local young people. We are looking for two kinds of volunteers, and we hope to move together with young people from understanding to discussion to action.

1. Exhibition guides and writers. This work touches on many important judicial-reform events and reveals the evolution of many laws that safeguard people’s rights in Taiwan. Before the exhibition opens, we have arranged two training sessions for guide volunteers — you only need to attend one — explaining our reform philosophy and the content of the exhibition:

• Session 1: Thursday 2/13, 16:00–18:00
• Session 2: Saturday 2/22, 10:00–12:00

Both are held at the Taichung Office. After learning the stories behind the exhibits in detail, volunteers are welcome to help write the exhibition column of our newsletter; under the editing of our staff, this becomes published work of the volunteers’ own. Four talks are tentatively planned during the exhibition period: "3/8 The Vulnerable Situation of Female Migrant Workers," "4/26 Talking Judicial Reform in Taiwanese," "5/17 Crime Victim Protection and Judicial Reform," and "6/7 Death-Penalty Legislative Reform after Constitutional Judgment 113-Hsien-Pan-8." Volunteers are also needed to help share the sessions and write up notes afterward.

2. Reading group. On three Saturday mornings — 4/12, 4/19, and 4/26, 10:00–12:00 — a reading group titled "Reading Old Judicial-Reform Magazines: Three Major Legal Issues" will be led by the Taichung Office’s rule-of-law education specialist, with JRF Chair Huang Hsu-tien and Deputy CEO Li Ming-ju also joining the discussion. Each week we will read selections from old judicial-reform magazines and discuss the past and present of reform on three themes: the Constitutional Court Procedure Act, the Judges Act, and the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Reading-group registrants pay a NT$500 deposit in cash on their first visit to the office. You must attend at least two weeks; the deposit is refunded upon attending as scheduled. Both parts can provide a youth-volunteer certificate, and you may register for both at the same time.

3. How to tell if you are a good fit. The JRF Taichung Office is a rule-of-law education base focused on youth participation. We especially welcome high-school, university, and graduate students; a legal background is not required. Volunteer activities mostly take place on weekday daytimes and Saturday daytimes. The Taichung Office has only a small staff and will do its best to support volunteers, but volunteers’ own initiative and enthusiasm matter too. The volunteer form is open until Friday 2/7. After confirming the list, we will notify you of next steps by email as soon as possible. Everyone is welcome.

Support Our Work

If this work matters to you, please consider supporting the Judicial Reform Foundation with a regular or one-time gift, so that we can keep standing with the people and pressing for a judiciary worthy of their trust.