Tue, Jun 29, 2004 page8

• Letter

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  Ezell on police `lies'

  I appreciate the space the Taipei Times has given to my pending deportation over a volunteer music performance. I have been granted an eleventh-hour reprieve by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) and can remain in Taiwan while the decision to cancel my work permit is appealed.

  I'm sorry that John Schneidhorst (Letters, June

  24, page 8) took the liberty of making slanderous and insulting public judgments on my private life. But I hope that a greater consciousness of the legal rights of foreign residents, be they

  of Western, Southeast Asian, African or any other background, will help others avoid the legal predicament that has disrupted my life and work here.

  I would like to clarify

  several points raised in Max Woodworth's first article ("Singing the deportation blues," June 20, page 17). Officer Peter Chen's (陳允萍) statements that he "didn't see any other performers on stage" and that because of me "a local performer isn't on the lineup" are lies. The night when undercover officers showed up and filmed the Dulan Organic Music Series, a local Aboriginal singer, Long-ge (龍哥), who recently released an album with indie label TCM, was performing. My involvement in that night's performance was limited to sitting in the audience and playing along with the music on a hand drum. The police videotaped me and later claimed that to play a hand drum in the audience at a public performance is illegal.

  This performance series was only a few weeks old and did not take opportunities away from local performers. It created them. There is no other venue in Taitung, nor, to my knowledge, along the entire east coast, for original folk music. The event was a sharing of music, dance and theater between Aboriginal, Han Taiwanese and Western performers in a friendly and open environment.

  The legal technicalities of Chen's disregard for due process may be too complex to unravel in a short space, but considering their importance to this case, it may be helpful to illustrate the nature of the investigation as it unfolded.

  At the very beginning, Chen had the option of warning me about what he believed to be illegal activities, whereupon I could have easily obtained a permit. They are activities that benefit local businesses, the tourism industry, Taitung County's Cultural Affairs Bureau and local artists.

  Instead, Chen began a series of threats aimed at me through my friends. He threatened the manager of the cafe with a NT$150,000 fine and through her threatened me with deportation. Chen never communicated with me directly, nor did he formally charge me with any violation. Following these threats, Chen promised me, my friends and certain political officials in Taitung that the case would be shelved if I submitted an official statement. At that time a deputy director at the Cultural Affairs Bureau told me that, as far as the bureau understood, my performing voluntarily was legal,

  so there seemed little risk in admitting I had done so.

  When I went to the precinct station, I was questioned without being read my right to a lawyer or to remain silent. Only when my answers were printed out and handed to me to sign did I read that I was under criminal investigation. I protested the omissions, as the document began with a statement of my rights in bold type that was supposed to be read to me at the start of the process. Chen and his assistant again threatened me, saying that everything had been arranged for the case to be smoothed over, but there would be "big trouble" (很大的麻煩) if I didn't sign. I signed, and the following week Chen delivered my statement to the CLA, where it was unquestioningly taken as evidence to convict me of a crime I have not been formally accused of.

  I am not a legal expert, but I have recently been told that the police are required by law to present foreign residents with an English translation of any documents they are requested to sign. I was not given a translation, and the entire interrogation was conducted in Mandarin. I am fluent in Mandarin and I am happy to communicate in that language, but the implications of a written legal statement are beyond the ken of even most native Mandarin speakers. For a native English speaker, no statement has legal validity unless it is signed by a translator. This aspect of the law was apparently ignored by both Chen and the CLA.

  Chen's conduct and investigative methods breach the law and police ethics. As a member of the police, Chen represents the authority of Taiwan, both physically and symbolically. His actions and attitude in my case directly contradict the humanitarian values declared by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who spoke of the need for ethnic unity and mutual understanding in his recent inauguration speech. Peter Chen's deceptive and intimidating behavior undermines the sincere efforts of many leaders and citizens to gain respect within the international community and reduces the president's message of hope and tolerance to a shambles of empty rhetoric.

  Scott Ezell

  Taitung County
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