Statement | Clarification regarding the United Daily News' report on the passing of former JRF staff member Ch'en Mei-hui

1. Regarding the accidental passing of our former colleague Ch'en Mei-hui, the Foundation issued a statement on December 5, 2024, paying tribute to Ch'en Mei-hui's extraordinary contributions to the public interest so that society may know and remember her person and work. We also called on all sectors and the media to respect the feelings of her family and friends, avoid disclosing private information, and respect the investigative procedures of prosecutors and law enforcement. We neither questioned nor speculated on the cause of Ch'en Mei-hui's passing, nor did we use terms such as "suspicious" externally.
    
2. While the Foundation is naturally concerned about the follow-up investigation into the incident, we strictly adhere to the statement issued by the family and their appointed legal team (attached below) to avoid any unverified and rampant suspicions that would disturb the family as they handle funeral arrangements. Since the family has already appointed lawyers to issue a statement, we hope all sectors will respect this.
    
3. Therefore, the statement in the United Daily News' December 7 print edition (lower half of the front page) and online breaking news report on the same day mentioning that "the Judicial Reform Foundation, anti-fraud groups, etc., all question that this incident is 'suspicious'" is untrue. We hereby clarify this and kindly request the relevant media to issue a correction.

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Statement by the Legal Counsel Appointed by the Family of Ch'en Mei-hui
2024/12/7

Since the incident occurred, we still cannot believe Mei-hui's departure, nor can we easily face the grief of her sudden loss. We thank all of Mei-hui's friends from all walks of life during her lifetime for silently remembering Mei-hui's goodness in various ways. We hope that all sectors of society and our friends in the media will respect the privacy of the deceased and her family, avoid disclosing information about her private life and funeral arrangements, and refrain from using unauthorized private photographs.

The family remains full of questions regarding the cause of this incident and has commissioned lawyers to assist in taking relevant legal actions, hoping that prosecutors and investigators will examine the various doubts in the case with an impartial and professional attitude, providing the family with a clear account. We also earnestly plead with all sectors of society to avoid various conspiratorial speculations, because any unverified and rampant suspicions leave the family restless and even less able to focus on handling funeral arrangements.

Mei-hui was like a light, illuminating a scarred world. The family earnestly pleads with media friends to focus on Mei-hui's righteous deeds, the truth of the incident, and systemic improvements, such as "establishing professional training mechanisms for virtual currency fraud crimes to enhance the investigative capabilities of relevant personnel," "improving legal protection mechanisms to safeguard personnel engaged in high-risk crime investigations, ensuring their personal and occupational safety," and "clarifying the roles and responsibilities of professionals in cross-departmental cooperation." We believe that using this as an opportunity to promote systemic improvement will be the best tribute to Mei-hui's life.

During this extremely difficult time, we hope that all sectors of society and media friends will understand that the family needs more space and time, and are unable to be distracted to respond to the general public or accept media interviews. For information related to the case and media contact, please directly contact Attorney Ch'en Meng-hsiu, the press contact person for the legal team appointed in this case. Thank you once again for the concern from all sectors of society.

Press Contact: Attorney Ch'en Meng-hsiu
Attorneys Appointed by the Family of Ch'en Mei-hui (listed in the order of Chinese strokes):
Attorney Li Hsuan-yi, Attorney Ch'iu Hsien-chih, Attorney Ch'en Meng-hsiu, Attorney Liu Yu-ch'eng, Attorney Liu Chi-wei, Attorney Ch'ien Chien-jung

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