(image from jernydog.wordpress.com)Today I went to Tuchung Detention Center to visit former President Chen Shui-bian to chat with him about some issues related to my thesis. I say chat because about 3 minutes before meeting him I was advised by his lawyer (?) of a number of restrictions that I hadn't anticipated. I won't talk here about the questions I asked him nor reveal his answers since I don't wish to break any laws I'm not aware of or compromise my research and final thesis. I will however describe my experience of the meeting.
We (Myself and EVA) arrived at the appointed time ready with questions, paper and pen only to be told that we would not be allowed to take anything at all into the meeting room and that an interview was not allowed so we had instead to chat with him in general terms rather than ask a series of questions, which was just as well because without my question list and translations I couldn't have structured the meeting anyway. In an instant, all my preparation went right out of the window. Thus, we walked across the famous courtyard you Chen exercising on the news and into a small dark room with swivel chairs facing windows with white bars across them. On the narrow desk in front of the window were two white telephones. As EVA and I were chatting about how to start I was caught off guard not having seen President Chen been escorted into the room. I turned to face the window expecting to wait longer for President Chen to arrive only to be looking straight into President Chen's bright and friendly eyes and nearly fell off my chair with shock. We picked up the phones and introduced ourselves. Behind us one guard looked on and on President Chen's side another guard with an earpiece listened to our conversation and took notes as expected and, I've been told, in accordance with the rules. We chatted amicably for the next 30 minutes about this and that until a voice in the phone gave us a two minute warning and then told us when our time was up. My impression of the former President was that he was very clear and articulate in what he said. He was funny and joked at times and he engaged this strange foreigner directly and warmly. We conducted the chat in Chinese with EVA helping me make my contributions clearer. Despite his long period of detention, President Chen looked well and spoke with some energy and enthusiasm. Despite my poor Chinese language skills, I understood most of what he said and for his part he understood the things I said to him. EVA was a lifesaver, and without her it would have been a far more scary and possibly unproductive event. I need another lifetime to repay her for her help and support. I will finish by saying that I feel deeply grateful to the staff at President Chen's office for helping to arrange the meeting and of course most of all to President Chen himself for agreeing to meet and chat with us. I learned a lot from the meeting and feel honoured to have had such an experience. I will make no comment here on President Chen's alleged crimes and detention nor on what he said to me except to say that as one human to another, I empathise with his difficult situation and wish that he can stay well physically and mentally into the future.
