Judicial complaint update
Last month I wrote about how a flawed judicial process forced me into exile from Taiwan (“Legal nightmare in Taiwan,” May 7, p8). Today, I write with a more troubling update: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuses to acknowledge its responsibility, in a glaring contradiction.
Last month, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office issued a formal letter stating that I had acted without malicious intent and caused no damage. Yet I remain under a criminal sentence — six months in prison — for the something the prosecution has officially declared non-criminal.
The judiciary said “case closed.” The prosecution has affirmed there was no crime. Yet my exile continues.
When I appealed to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, hoping that the ministry would recognize this is no longer a legal dispute, but a human rights and foreign affairs issue, I was told simply that “the judiciary is independent” and that the decision is final.
No acknowledgment of the contradiction. No steps toward remedy. No indication of concern that a Canadian permanent resident of Taiwan lost his livelihood, residency, healthcare and rights due to a debunked ruling.
This contravenes articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. When a person is punished without cause and remedy, it is arbitrary punishment.
If a Taiwanese were exiled from Canada based on a court ruling later contradicted by the government, there would be media outrage, diplomatic protests and calls for redress.
When the judiciary and prosecution issue irreconcilable findings and the ministry chooses silence over action, the damage extends far beyond one person — it undermines public trust in institutions.
A democracy that cannot self-correct places its credibility at risk. If this is how a long-term resident is treated, how can others trust in the fairness or resilience of the system? Who would invest in or immigrate to a country where one can be arbitrarily punished and left without recourse?
I ask again — now with even greater urgency — for the government to resolve this contradiction, restore what was lost and prove that its commitments to human rights are not just symbolic.
My case is an unfortunate, preventable disgrace. I do not write to harm Taiwan, but to ask a simple question: What would you do if it happened to you?
Ross Cline
New Brunswick, Canada
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