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[Pow3hatan]

I'm in the midst of contacting various Taiwan government bodies, the AIT and human rights groups seeking assistance to halt the intimidation and bullying tactics of the Shihlin prosecutors office.
Earlier this week I got a phone call from the AIT and to make a longer story short, they said there's nothing they can do to probe this matter or help me. Their only recommendations were to get legal assistance and to seriously consider going back to Taiwan if I'm subpeonaed for a 7th time to show I'm being cooperative.
Here is the email I sent the AIT before the phone call, including how cooperative I've already been with this biased investigation:

Dear AIT,

Please find attached some relevant documents concerning a continuing problem I have with the (nursing college) and the Shihlin District Prosecutors office. I first contacted you in late November 2008 about this situation.
The main point now is that in April I moved to Thailand to start a new job and get a fresh start on my life after suffering almost 2 years of harassment, intimidation, legal and human rights abuse at the hands of the nursing college, certain government agencies and the certain elements of the judiciary. While I was still in Taiwan, I was called in for questioning once by the Beitou Police in August 2008 (see attached name card) followed by investigation hearings at the Shihlin prosecutor's office in December 2008, January, March and April 2009 (see attachments). The April 15 hearing the prosecutor's office did not even give me proper notice, contacting my Taiwanese friend by phone only a few days before they wanted me to appear and sending a notice to me April 14.
I notified the prosecutor's office at the April 15 hearing and later by letter that I would be moving and could not attend any further hearings in Taiwan. However, in May I was noticed to attend a hearing and again in June. Both times I sent replies (see attachments) to the prosecutor explaining I could not fly to and from Taiwan and why, and in my June letter offering the prosecutor other options for questioning me. However, since the April hearing the prosecutor's office has been threatening to issue an arrest warrant or ban me from entering Taiwan if I did not attend hearings after moving to Thailand.
While in Taiwan, I was already aware the nursing college has been using their friends in the Shihlin prosecutor's office to harass, intimidate and bully me into dropping my lawsuit against the nursing college in exchange for them dropping their attempt to sue me back. I'm more than tired of this judicial harassment and interference in my legitimate and lawful pursuit of justice and compensation for the nursing college's unlawful actions and defamation aganst me.
In addition, I submitted a complaint letter and hard evidence to both the Taipei Chief Prosecutor (November 2008)and the Shihlin District Prosecutor (November 2008 and January 2009) of forgery, perjury and other unlawful actions by the nursing college and until now I have not gotten any response or action from either office.
I am asking for assistance from the AIT to contact the relevant authorities and stop this unlawful harassment and intimidation. Why should I be pursued across Asia and the world like some high-profile, serious criminal when I am just an ordinary and low-profile man who has committed no crime and who is a victim of crimes by the nursing college and coverup by the ministry of education and others.
I just want to prove my innocence, get justice and compensation, and go on with the life I lived prior to this nightmare and fulfill the dreams I once had that were destroyed by the lies and fraud perpetrated by the nursing college. Am I any less deserving of this than anybody else?

[Pow3hatan]

In what could be good news or bad, the lawyer who has been handling the civil lawsuit for 8 months has suddenly resigned from her law firm and my case for health reasons. So, just a few weeks before the next court hearing there will be a new lawyer assigned to my case by the Legal Aid Foundation!
This is the second time a lawyer has resigned from my case (the first one because she moved to Tainan) and I must hurriedly help the new lawyer catch up on the key points of this lawsuit just before a hearing. Except, this time I'm not in Taiwan to meet with this lawyer and I must do all the briefing by email. Fortunately, I've got a lot of information and docs already collected together since the start and I can save some time.
What I need is someone the caliber of OJ's (Simpson) old lawyer or Mark Geragos!

[Pow3hatan]

This week I got some more information about my lawyer and the law firm she works for. It could be the much-needed break I've been hoping for to really get the W I've been fighting for.
Aside from her good background and experience, the firm she works for advertises itself as The Firm (yes, of the John Grisham novel) and backs up that claim with over 90 attorneys on staff and offices in Taipei 101, plus affiliations with law firms in other countries. This is a stark contrast to the previous attorneys who worked for much more modest-size law firms.
Let's see where this takes us.

[Pow3hatan]

Typhoon Morakot is doing its thing over northern Taiwan today, so all government offices are closed meaning today's court hearing is rained out. I'll post the date of the rescheduled hearing when I've got it.
Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise for me, allowing the new lawyer more time to prepare after suddenly having to take over my case less than 2 months ago.

[Pow3hatan]

A new administration has begun at the nursing college effective August 3. Apparently the new president is someone hired from outside the nursing college. There's a decent chance some of the previous conspirators involved in handling this case will be replaced.
Whether any of these changes will have any effect on this sham remains to be seen, but in all probability it will turn out to be a case of "birds of a feather flock together" and "same as it ever was, same as it ever was."

[Pow3hatan]

Finally some movement!
The 6th court hearing in my lawsuit, which was cancelled due to Typhoon Morakot, has been rescheduled for Sept. 18.
My administrative appeal of the false sex harassment accusation scam will be reviewed on August 31 by the MOE, but unfortunately behind closed doors.
It's taken very close to 2 YEARS to finally get the appeal this far after numerous stalling and blocking tactics by the nursing college and the MOE.

[Rooster_2006]

[gfisher]

Good luck and please keep posting...

[Pow3hatan]

gfisher and Rooster...thanks for the continued encouragement!

[Pow3hatan]

For those of you who are new to this thread and/or have not read all of my posts, I�ll say again that the main reason why I decided to file a lawsuit against the nursing college for their false accusation and fraudulent decision was to try and stop this kind of sham from continuing and victimizing more and more innocent teachers, particularly us expats toiling far from our homes, our families and our more familiar legal and human rights protections.

Of course, another important reason is to substantiate the truth and get justice myself for the defamation to my reputation and character, and damage done to my work, my financial condition � to my life � by the lies and fraud of a few evil shysters. My future lies in the balance.

The judge�s decision in this case likely will have serious ramifications and quite possibly set the precedent for years to come for many expats and others working in Taiwan who are similarly falsely accused.
The wrong decision would leave all of us susceptible to increasing instances of false accusations of sex harassment or even sexual assault � both inside and outside the classroom or office. Merely doing one's job or participating in extracurricular activities with students will leave us vulnerable to all kinds of unfounded accusations.

As has happened in my case, all it will take is for a dishonest, unbalanced, or vengeful student to make a false accusation, plus a cooperating witness or witnesses, add in a school administration (and an institution of authority) instigating, encouraging and participating in the plot, and there will be no way for the innocent to defend themselves and prove the lies.
No evidence needed to prove such serious accusations, transparency and fairness in the investigation and decision processes denied to the accused while the accuser has full access to the school�s case resources, legal assistance, and the evidence and testimony of the accused.

[ESL Hobo]

Hi Again,
If you get a chance you should read, "The 33 Strategies of WAR" by Robert Green. The book is split into 5 sections with different strategies, the last one being, Unconventional (Dirty)Warfare.

Personally, I can go along with the tactics used in the first 4 sections, but dirty warfare is beyond my sense of fair play, on the other hand you must realize some people skip straight to dirty warfare for the quick win and have no compunctions whatsoever about it. And from time to time, in life, you are going to be on the receiving end of dirty warfare.

I also realized that those who fight dirty win frequently, especially when the legal system backs them up. I am not saying this about TW, per say, it's a global problem.

I put off buying this book for about a year because I wanted to save $25, I now wish I had bought it a lot sooner. I am not an agrressive warrior type, but this book set me wise to the games of other and how to defend myself, identify the types of people who fight unfairly and avoid them, saving myself from heaps of trouble.

Best wishes on the outcome

the Hobo

[romanworld]

[JZer]

Which for all of you who have not heard leads to this story about an AIT worker!


http://tw.nextmedia.com/applenews/article/art_id/31880119/IssueID/20090821

[Pow3hatan]

Jzer...the article you linked brings up another relevant point connected to my case that I've not addressed much on this thread - the widespread and stubborn stereotypes, biases and prejudices against foreign men abroad, especially in Taiwan's media.

To make a much longer story short, since the beginning of this nightmare circus, on three different occasions I or Taiwanese friends have contacted several of the print & TV news media in Taiwan to do this story. Over 2 years time the end result has been...a little more than nothing!

The first time some friends and I made contacts (about 2 months into the saga), the initial response was very good - in just 2 evenings I was interviewed by a Chinese-language daily newspaper and 2 TV news channels. Out of that, only a 45-second blurb that bungled the key points of my story aired on the TV news. In fact, Taiwanese friends said it wasn't especially positive to my side, instead giving the nursing college most of the time to give their version of the situation.

The newspaper spent the most time to interview me and look at some of the documents related to the case (before a lawsuit had been filed), and they seemed very interested in investigating and running a story. However, on the same night they interviewed me they were also supposed to interview one of the central players from the nursing college. Needless to say, a story never was published.

The other 2 later attempts to find media interested in doing this story yielded only one more short interview by the same newspaper (by a different reporter in early 2009) and still no story. Always some lame excuses why they couldn't publish a story.

As many of you have probably seen in Taiwan, the media pounce on stories about Taiwanese women accusing a foreign man of some (real or imagined) wrongdoing, but virtually no stories about foreign men who have been wronged by Taiwanese women (maybe even Taiwanese men too!)

What's up with that?

Even the English-language daily newspapers in Taiwan totally ignored my contacts and wouldn't even publish the Letters to the Editor I submitted.
So, I have been preparing for contacting some international media and human rights groups to get the word out and hopefully call needed attention to this danger that is ambushing too many who have little or no voice or recourse to defend their innocence and get justice.

Any suggestions are welcome!

[Pow3hatan]

Hobo~
Thanks for the suggestion of the "33 Strategies of War" and I'll see if I can find it here in Thailand and have a look at it. You're very right about those amoral ones who want to win too badly and resort to all kinds of dirty tricks.

That has been a strong theme running through this situation with my accuser and the nursing college. Their dirty tricks opened this saga and have continued unabated throughout the 2+ years of this ordeal. I've also had to fight the other "powers-that-be" involved in this situation who support, cover for, and lend their helping hands to an evil, unjust cause.