[Reading Notes] "As long as he still has the death penalty on him, Taiwan's martial law will not really end!" - "Rogue Wang Xinfu"

Before all this happened, Wang Xinfu was an apprentice carpenter. He lived on Ping Ping Street. He had a tolerant mother and innocent sister in a long and narrow house, and his backyard was full of flowers and plants. After the age of eighteen, he drifted between outer islands one after another, and really became a "rogue". He is a shadow other than the shadow, flowing to the island outside the island, trapped in the prison; in the long drift, his heart is nothing more than: returning to Equality Street.

Since 2011, including Jiang Guoqing, Su Jianhe, Xu Ziqiang and Zheng Xingze, etc., some unjust cases have been rehabilitated, and people have begun to hope for judicial reform. However, we often ignore that these cases are only a small number, and although the transformation has begun, there are still many victims of wrongful cases still in prison or even dead, and their justice is still far away. Among them, Wang Xinfu, the oldest death row prisoner in Taiwan, is one of them.

He's a hooligan and a prisoner

Nonetheless, when reading the title of "Rogue Wang Xinfu", many people may have doubts, knowing that injustices in the martial law era will not be targeted, but it is inevitable that there are some preconceived ideas about "rehabilitating the rogue". However, through Zhang Juanfang, an author who has long been concerned with human rights issues, step by step, readers will see not only the various doubts in the trial of this case, Wang Xinfu's character story, but also during Chiang Kai-shek's authoritarian government. rogueization" to facilitate the bloody historical context of domination.

Wang Xinfu's personal history of hooliganism began with a long-haired floral shirt.

At that time, he was an apprentice in a lumber factory, and he was also with his friends soliciting taxis in front of Chiayi Station. This period may have been Wang Xinfu's happiest days, but his joy in life was not tolerated by the authoritarian system of the 1960s and 1970s.

In conclusion, "Rogue Wang Xinfu" is a wonderful and rich work. Whether it is through fiction, telling his story from the perspective of Wang Xinfu's family, discussing the doubts of the verdict logically, or introducing the background of the era at that time, it introduces the life of a criminal "being hooligan"; There were flaws in the martial law period, but now the death sentence has not been overturned; and a history that has not been paid attention to by the mainstream society, but is an important puzzle of transitional justice.

Injustice behind oldest death row prisoner stems from martial law 'hooligan' policy

"The object of transformational justice is usually innocent people." The emergence of "Rogue Wang Xinfu" challenges this stereotype on two levels. Not only because of state violence (including judicial trials and administrative oppression during the martial law period) did not turn around because of seeing bad guys, in those days, even the standard of "innocence" was often just a political tool to distinguish the enemy from us.

While the unjust incarceration during the martial law period was infuriating, it was even more helpless. Perhaps it was the prejudice brought about by Wang Xinfu's "rogue" label under the circumstances of right and wrong, which made his reversal of the case full of According to, the process is extremely difficult. Although there is no authoritarian authority beyond the constitution, but the public opinion that has replaced it, and the media that only focuses on sensationalism, is it not another kind of authoritarianism?

Zhixian said, "The past is over. We believe that in this case, Brother Xinfu is really wronged."

"That's because we are talking about human rights here. People outside don't think that way." Still smiling.

Before discussing the abolition of death, Taiwan's judicial "turning bone" road

Wang Xinfu, who has not even graduated from elementary school and has been exiled and squeezed from labor since he was 18 years old, laughs at himself that he has absolutely no self-relief ability, and wants to fight against the legal country, just like a small figure pushing a giant stone on the cover, but The appeals were rejected again and again, and the real Xerxes could only continue to use all his strength to keep himself from being ruthlessly crushed by reality.

In Taiwan, one of the most controversial issues when it comes to "abolishing death", but before the various pros and cons debate, many people may have overlooked one of the most crucial issues: "Can we really trust justice?" According to 2022 According to a survey conducted by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation in 2009, more than 40% of the public are still dissatisfied with the effectiveness of judicial reform. The national judge system that will be implemented soon will inevitably face many challenges.

As long as he still has the death penalty on him, the martial law in Taiwan is not really over!

In the preface to the recommendation, Peng Renyu, a member of the Committee for Promoting Transitional Justice, used "turning bones" to describe the importance of Wang Xinfu's case. Although judges who have been selected at various levels are also human, as long as they are human, they will make mistakes. Rather than expecting a judiciary that does not make mistakes, it may be more practical to create an environment in which "knowing mistakes can be corrected". The appearance of "Rogue Wang Xinfu" also reminds us that only by comprehensively reviewing all inappropriate actions during the martial law period can Taiwan's judicial reform and transitional justice be able to move forward.

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