The Inmate Donated His Liver, Saved His Uncle’s Life, Swore Through His Tears: I Shall, NEVER be, Behind These Bars, Ever, Again!

All it took for this inmate to turn over a new leaf, is noting how his uncle who raised him needed him, and he wasn’t there, how this man chose to turn his own life, around, and hopefully, he will be strong enough to, never break the laws, again!  Family’s love and support, seemed to be the key to successfully getting these inmates, reformed, to help them really turn over that new, leaf, off of the Newspapers, translated…

An inmate nicknamed “Swallow” in the Keelung Penitentiary had come in and out of prison multiple times, the most recent, he was sentenced to two and a half years, and started serving again, because his uncle who raised him had liver sclerosis from long-term drinking, was in a coma, he’d donated half of his liver to save his uncle’s life, and, as he was told that his donated liver had saved his uncle, after he was out of anesthesia, he’d told, “I will, never be in here, again!”

Shortly after “Swallow” reentered into the penitentiary, he was raised by his grandmother, and his uncle, due to his alcoholism causing him to be in the latter stages of sclerosis, was in desperate need of a liver transplant, but all of his families got tested, and no match, Swallow was the last hope, but he was already, in prison, serving time then.

The families asked the legislator, Tsai for help, the penitentiary allowed Swallow to get tested at the hospital with the guards accompanying, and it was a positive match, Swallow immediately agreed to donate part of his liver to save his uncle’s life, on the seventh, he went in to get the donation, is currently hospitalized, and couldn’t attend the Mother’s Day family event set by the penitentiary, the penitentiary, to fulfill the wishes of Swallow being with his family for the occasion, allowed his older brother to the hospital ward to visit with him, it was very moving as they interacted.

seeing his mother, this man will, hopefully, start on a brand new path of his own life after his time served! Photo from online

Swallow had given fifty-five percent of his own liver to implant into his uncle’s body, his uncle who was in a coma from before the surgery had regained consciousness now, and his conditions are, improving, but still in the I.C.U. for observations.  Swallow told, that he was glad to hear that his uncle is getting better, didn’t think that he was able to, save another’s, life.

Swallow made up his mind, that after his release, he will give back to his families and do something good for the society, to make up for his past, to turn over a new leaf, to never return back into prison again.

And, another inmate “Han” (a false name) had given his aunt who raised him like he were her own a painting he’d made as a gift, and gave the carnation, the card provided by the charitable foundation to his own aunt, thanking her for not giving up on him.

And, it seemed, that the families’ care, and love, and faith in these inmates are the keys to help them start anew again, because, they see how their imprisonment had caused a ton of hardship, heartaches, difficulties for their loved ones, and, that would help them, to not go down the wrong paths again, after they do, get released from serving the times for the crimes they’d already, committed.

At Age Seventeen, He’d Gunned Down a Head of a Gang, Sentenced to Thirty Years, He’d Finished His College Studies in Prison Now

So, getting caught and getting in prison, was actually a good thing for this young man, how this young man turned over a new leaf by working hard to earn his degree in prison, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

The news of a pawn shop in Tucheng was fired into fifty-one times by an underage shooter, Liu, the news shocked the island.  And yet, the already murdered gang leader, Weng was also, gunned down by a seventeen-year-old “hitman”, Liao using that sniper, when Liao committed the crimes, he was underage, started serving in juvenile detention, later, got sent to the Kaohsiung Correctional School, the Mingyang Middle School, as he became adult, he was sent to Taichung Penitentiary to serve out the rest of his term, during the time, he managed to get a degree from National Open University, and is still not yet, paroled out to date.

On May 28^th, 2010, Liao went to the Sun-Moon Biotech Company in Taichung, fired off sixteen shots, and gunned down Weng on site, became, the youngest convicted gunman in Taiwan, the Highest Court sentenced him to thirty years, which was the most severe sentence given to a juvenile offender.

The internal management of the Taichung Penitentiary recalled, more than a decade ago, as Liao was studying in National Open University, he’d done extremely well academically, and he was quite impressed with Liao’s drive to learn, in recent years, Liao had been transferred to Changwha Prison to serve.

like this! Photo from online

The professor who once mentored Liao, the pastor, Huang stated, that since the shooting, to him visiting Liao in lock up of late, during the time of Liao’s incarceration, he’d finished high school, and all the way, earned his bachelor’s degree from the National Open University, it’d moved him, and Liao, in the letters he’d sent, stated that he felt remorse for what he did from when he was younger.

Huang supported Liao’s drives to learn, and told, that other than excelling in the academia, he’d entered into the writing competitions hosted by the prison systems, and as he’d won, he’d donated the cash prize of over ten thousand dollars N.T. to the nonprofit organizations, and charities that helped the released inmates, showing his remorse, and expressed his desires, to give back to the community too.

Huang stated, that recently, he’d gone to visit Liao, and Liao told him, that if he gets paroled out in the future, he would like to join the seminary to further his education.

And so, this is how this young man started making up for his own mistakes, and even though he can’t undo what he did, but, at least, he’d, turned his own life around, studied hard, and if he ever gets released from prison, he will start anew, as a, good person.

graduating, with a, second, chance…photo from online

My Maternal Grandfather Who Was a Master Puppeteer

The life of this man, was as with many twists and turns, as the puppet shows he’d, performed in…translated…

This year at the before-the-New-Year Cleaning, I’d started sorting through the stacks of photo albums on the shelves, in the messy, not ordered by dates old photos, I’d found my long ago, already forgotten maternal grandfather.  If he were still around, he would be, a hundred and eleven this year.

When I was in the elementary years, he was already, elderly, but every now and then, he’d taken the train from Changwha by himself to Kaohsiung to stay with us.  Remembered how one time during the summer vacations, after we’d finished the tape of the puppet shows we’d rented, he’d started, telling the stories of old.

His father died young, his mother remarried, and so, at a very young age, he’d started, drifting around, thankfully, there was a man who’d, taken him in—a master puppeteer in Yunlin, saw that he was young, but quite intelligent, and learned really quickly, he’d, taken him in as his apprentice, and passed the skills of puppeteering to him.

the master puppeteer, performing with the puppets…photo from online

My maternal grandfather was illiterate, and had hired those who can read, to read the books to him, to tell him the tales, anything from the Tri-Kingdoms, the Seven Swordsmen, as he’d listened to those tales once, and, he could, recall the details, and put on the shows, and made the puppets perform the actions, in those days when the mic hadn’t been invented, using his diaphragm, he was able to star in the performances at the temple celebrations, and used this skill of his, to make a lot of, money, became quite famous in the central regions.

I’d privately asked mom out of curiosity, why he’d suddenly, retired, and stopped, putting on the, acts?  Turned out, every time he’d done a performance, he’d gambled his earnings on the dices, and, lost almost, all of his earnings for the shows, he’d, performed to gambling, rarely brought home any of what he’d, earned in the performances.  And, my maternal grandfather’s mother-in-law was quite intelligent, every time she received the news of him coming home, she’d immediately, cleared out the storages of rice, stashed the rice at another location in the kitchens, with only a bowl of salted water on the supper tables, and a few yams, to show how bad the situation at home is to my maternal grandfather, showed, that “this is the only things we had to eat”.

Later on, one day, when my eldest aunt was still quite young, she’d stolen a salted fish from the vendor when he wasn’t looking, took it home, and started eating it like it was, gourmet.  This was sighted by my maternal grandfather, and he’d immediately taken her to the fish vendor, to pay for the fish and to have my eldest aunt to apologize to the man for stealing.  At the same time, he’d, examined himself, that it was his addictions to gambling, that’s caused his families to be in poverty stricken means.  He’d cried those tears of remorse, of regret, and sworn to stop being addicted to gambling, and had, sold off the boxes of delicate puppets at a very cheap price to a Japanese collector, and started up in his business since, walked all over the island, to sell the fabrics.

Thinking on my maternal grandfather’s life, it was, like those, puppet shows he’d, performed, with the ups, downs, the highs and the, lows, and, until before the curtains fell, the show still, played on, he’d had, the hardships of his life, handed, to him then.

And so, this is, a showman’s life, he’d toured around with the troupes, and, gambled away all of his earnings, and it wasn’t until he saw his own young, stealing and eating that fish, did he, finally realize, that he needed to cut his addiction off, and that was all that it took, for this man, to turn over a new leaf, to start acting responsibly, to provide for his own, families.

The Fourteen-Year-Old “Snow”, Humiliated Repeated by Her Classmates After She Got Released Out of Juvenile Detention, and Ended Up Dropping Out of School

Yeah, whatever happened to the juvie records being, sealed by the courts???  Oh wait, that did not happen, not here, which makes it even harder, for these young teenagers to turn over a new leaf in their own lives, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

“You are a SCREW UP all the same”, the Disciplinary Official from My School Called Me to Talk…in the End, He’d Made up the Lies of Me Having a Mental Disorder, and, Kicked Me out of School

The fourteen-year-old “Snow” dropped out at age fourteen, and started wandering the streets, and, unknowingly, she’d taken a ketamine cigarette from her friend, and was sentenced to juvenile detention for six months, and, after her release, she’d returned back to school, and the school official insulted her, and expelled her, she’d felt loss for two whole years.  The following is her own words on the experience”

That autumn, after my release from juvenile detention, I’d never broken the laws again, entered into a private technical high school to study.  The head disciplinary official asked me why I was two months late in, I’d told him the truth, told them that I’d once, broken the law.

in need of a second chance, but the world doesn’t give them that! Photo from online

And, my honesty got me discriminated by the school!  Every day the officials in school forced me to give the urine samples, and because I was cleaned, they couldn’t test anything out from it.  But, every urine test for me was humiliation, and, the disciplinary official would always look at me questioningly, like I’d “cheated” in giving my urine samples, that’s why my tests showed negative for illegal substances.

The school official even used the dyes into the toilet waters, to prevent me from scooping up the water in the toilet to turn in as my sample.  Can’t believe they’d thought up of that, but I really, didn’t use any substances!

“You’d been taken into custody, you’re a bad seed, who will believe you!”, the disciplinary official always picked on me, and had, insulted me like so often.  In the end, the school lied that I had a mental condition, and forced me out.

I’d worked so hard, to get back into the technical high schools, and this was what I got in return.  Paid my tuitions, told the truth, but nobody was tolerant, nobody accepted me with my bad past.  I was defeated, and started getting drunk at the karaoke with my friends everyday now.

Later, as my mother encouraged me, I’d signed up for another technical high school.  And this time, I’d learned better, never told the school the truths of my past, instead I’d kept my priors hidden, and so, they’d not given me a hard time, and I was able to get back into school again, and my life is, back on, track.

If I can return back to six years ago, I wouldn’t have broken the law, nor dropped out of school, instead, I’d followed my original smoother path, and study hard, and maybe, I would have had the chance of getting into a better high school, and university, and maybe, I wouldn’t have bump into, so many hardships of my life, maybe, maybe, there would be no need for detours in my adolescence, maybe………

What these kids need, are a brand new fresh start, a second chance at their lives, and yet, because of their priors on record, despite how they were still minors, and those juvie records should’ve been sealed by the courts, their pasts became out in the open, and the school officials discriminated them, labeled them as bad seeds, and they don’t get a chance to start their lives anew, and, this young lady was one of the luckier ones, because at LEAST she’d found herself back on the right tracks of life, and learned the lessons her pasts had taught her, and, there are many more teens like her, not as lucky as she.

With the Help of Connection of a Local Bagel Shop, the Children Out of Broken Homes Found Employment, to Start Their Lives, on a Brand New Page

Finally, some, good news, the good will of the people who’d, set up this shop, with the wills to help those who lost their support from their own families, a social enterprise, off of the Newspapers, translated…

The bagel shop “Good Trees Better Fruits” in Pingzhen, Taoyuan, the founders, the married couple Huang and Chen, through the bagels that they sold, they’d connected with the younger generations of fragile families, hoping their cares and concerns can make them feel more encouraged and loved, to help them find a way to show off their values of life; all the workers, the manager, the pastry chef of the shop are all under age thirty, they’d turned the shop into their home away from home, and found their point to begin again in their own separate, lives.

The bagels of the shop were on display, from the selecting of the ingredients, the kneading of the dough, the fermenting of the dough, the baking, the setting the dough to better appearances, every step to make the bagels are thoroughly thought and planned out.

the founder on the left, Chen, with the store manager, Huang, photo courtesy of UDN.com

Huang’s belief was using the bagels, to turn the stories of life of his team of employees, into the blessing for someone else.  And now, the couple not only owned and operated the bagel shop, they’d also started up a foundation, “The Tree of Life Leadership Organization of Taoyuan”, to help the younger generations to start up their own businesses, to help them get employment.

Recalling how back in 2019, they’d started from the tiny warehouse space as a shop, Chen recalled, how they’d lacked the funding, no connections, let alone, a shopfront, and every day, he’d worried of not getting what he’d made sold completely; thankfully due to the online business means, along with how the reputation of the shop is being set up, they’d gone against the flow, and made their business a success.

The store manager, Huang, due to problems in his family was forced to separate from his own parents, and at his worst, he’d not had enough money to pay for his rent, his utilities, and bought the nearing expiration date items as food.  Another young store manager, Lai, her parents were addicts, in and out of prison a lot, with nobody she could rely on after her grandmother passed away.  There were also the baker who’d served five years in prison due to gang relations, the mother of three who’d lacked the self-confidence, the baker who’d started on his own since before age twenty, they’d all found their brand new start in life at “Good Trees, Better Fruits”.

And so, this is the heart of this young couple, who saw a need of the younger generations, and gave them a place to work, to use their own abilities to make a living for themselves, and this shop offered its employees a brand new start on life, gave them another chance to begin anew in their own separate lives.

This is a good shop, with the beliefs of operations in helping others find their way!

Saving His Old Friend from Dying of Internal Bleeding, the Man with an Outstanding Arrest Warrant Called the Cops

This man, found his own friend’s life more important than his own active arrest warrant, and made the right judgment call, how this is a step toward the right direction in this man’s life, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

A man, Pan from Kaohsiung awhile ago, went with his friend, Chang to the mountains to pick the herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, and on the third day, Chang felt sick, and started defecating blood; Pan was worried that his friend might die in the mountains, risked his identity of being a criminal with an active arrest warrant on him being found out, went down the mountains, and reported his friend’s conditions to the police, then, led the police and the fire department up the mountains to save his own friend’s life.  As he was taken into custody, he’d stated, “Even though now I’m arrested for my drug charges, but at least, I still have my conscience intact.”

The sixty-four year-old Pan had been friends with Chang for thirty, forty years, the two went to the Five Creeks Mountain regions of Taoyuan District in Kaohsiung to pick the Chinese herbal medicines on the twenty-sixth of this month.  At around noon of the twenty-eighth, Chang suddenly fell ill, and started defecating blood, although he’d not ruled it out as his stomach bleeding, but, worried, that if he didn’t get sent to the hospitals, he may be in life-threatening danger, and that was when Pan decided to go down the mountains to get him the help he needed.

Pan had an active arrest warrant on illegal substances on him at the beginning of March, he knew, that if he’d rushed to the substations to call for help for his friend, and filled out the forms, his status of being a criminal might get found out, but, as he’d arrived to the Meishan Substation to report, he’d still used his real identity, and the local police immediately found, that he had an active arrest warrant signed by the Chiaotou D.A.’s Office.  Pan told the officers, that his friend’s life is in danger that he wasn’t going to run.

The police then contacted the local fire department, the Yushan National Park management, the Seventh local safety squad, and the officials set up a search and rescue team, and Pan led them to his friend, and they were able to find Chang on the twenty-ninth, and lifted him off the mountains, got him the help he needed, he is in the hospital for an extended stay.

And so, this man realized, that his friend’s life was more important than the fact that he had an active arrest warrant, that’s why he’d gone to the police station, to get help for his friend who’d fallen ill in the mountains, and his risking getting caught (which he was!), was what saved his friend, and, that counts for something, and I’m sure, that after he served his time, he will, turn over that new leaf, and leave his criminal pasts behind him for good.

Rebirthed from Prison, Patched Up the Love, a Treasure Map of Memories

Repeated in that vicious cycle of his own misbehaviors, led him down this path of, no return, and now finally, as he sits in his cell, he’d, realized what he’d done, and what he can do, to turn his own life, around, translated…

For Most, This is a Hopeless Sort of Life……………

My rebirth from the flames, started from owing two hundred million dollars, the ability to introspect, to admit to what I’d done was wrong, was from my twelve years’ sentence in prison.  For most, this is a life without the chances, but to me, it’s, a brand new, beautiful, beginning, because, I’m now able to use my mindset of learning for life, to, turn the bottom half of my own life, around.

Walking on That, Right Path, Finally

Back when I was too young to know any better, I’d thought, that putting my fist out to help a friend, is the true meaning of giving them the support they were looking for, and yet, what I got were, the conflicts of the fights I’d gotten in, at age twenty, I’d, faced my very first, prison sentence, being taken into, custody.  Everybody told, that the longer you get locked up in prison, the more badass you’d, become, that it’s the path, of becoming a gangster, so, the very first time I got stuck in a cage, I just wanted to, make more friends, to expand my connections.  And surely, I’d not changed a bit after I’d made bail, and, I’d, hit the walls, soon enough, and only, stayed out of prison, for one short, year’s time.

The second time I got taken into custody, I’d met a white collar criminal, the worst step I’d, ever taken, and became, a con artist, got on that path of, no return.  The second time I’d made bail, I went into business with a friend, and, wrote the scripts, used the cons, to get my very first bucket of gold in life, ever since, I’d, gotten lost in the nightlife, took up the habits of gambling, and, started, squandering everything away to soon, which was a proof of, traveling down the wrong road, it’ll, catch up to you eventually.

illustration from UDN.com

By age twenty-five, I’d faced my third, two years’ worth of prison sentence, being righteous toward my friends, I’d, taken all the blames, and in return, all my friends, they’d, deserted me.  My wife went into labor when I was held in custody, and she was too distressed and had postpartum depression, and in the end, my only source of strength was my parents’ never giving up on me, which was, the start of, me, waking up, and turning my life, around.  I’d started, making friends with books, started getting into the habits of reading, to change my own heart, and understood the meanings of, “helping others” and the meanings of “helping another is helping ourselves”.  My own experiences made me reached out to my fellow inmates, hoping they don’t travel down this same wrong path I had, to improve themselves, for those around them.

The two years’ prison terms, I’d, come to understand, that the justice system is maxed out in giving me my second chances, that every time I returned back to the society, I’d, strayed, farther from I did before, that I may not have the opportunity to get out, on good behaviors again; and, maybe, it’s going to take me more years to finally appreciate being able to feel the love from my parents, to find the blessings of sharing a meal with my wife and children.  And yet, in my time of serving prison, I was, blessed by heavens above, as I was told, that I was allowed to make bail a third time, I’d sworn, that in the time I’m serving, I shall, stay away from the bad, and, start walking out, a better path of life for myself.

The Encouragements to Myself, “It Takes Ten Years to Make a Perfectly Sharpened Sword”

After I’d made bail, I’d, still, gathered with those friends, but without, the bad influences, sharing only the ideals, and I’d, come to understand, how those friends’ not, deserting me was, too precious to, come by.  As my case was still pending, I’d discussed with a friend on the future direction of my own life, “We’ll try it with you.”  with their supports I’d, become, an entrepreneur.  And, as I got totally immersed in what I was doing, I fell, in love, and in the process, I’d come to understand the meaning of “there’s a house of gold in every book”, the books I’d read in prison became quite useful in business, I’d started up from the fundamentals, and because of how my partners and I were on the same page, in only three short years, we’d, made a “good grade”.  I’m more than grateful to my friends’ trusts in me, from the team of five originally, squatted inside that compressed, tiny office, and now, we’d, expanded to more than thirty employees.

During the time of our startup, I’d worked in the merchandising department, and, used the knowledge I’d read up on in the books from prison, to lower the costs and to barter with the providers, but, being a con artist myself, I got, conned, and, I’d originally wanted to, shoulder the money I’d lost for the firm, but, my partners denied my request to, and said, that the company will pay up the total.  And in the end, the providers were touched by my story of turning my own life around, and, refunded the amount we’d lost back to us.

We all eventually, pay for our own, mistakes.  My trial dragged out for three full years, as I’d gotten that serving sentence to prison, I’d felt upset, but I’d not, gone back on that promise I’d made three years ago when I’d made bail then, and my families saw how hard I’d, tried to work to turn my life around too.

And to this very day, whenever I get anxious, upset, or agitated, I’d still told myself, “it takes ten years to sharpen that sword”, we needed to trim the rough edges of our own character off, to better our own, abilities too, and I’d understood the true meaning of “only when you change for the better, the meanings of you becoming a man showed.”

still serving his time…

repenting for what he did…photo from online

I am, a textbook example, although I’d still caused myself to get stuck, but I hope, that the life experiences of this decade of life from my twenties to my thirties, can help light the way for all those who are currently lost at the crossroads of their own, lives.

And so, this is the man’s, tracing the wrong steps he’d taken in his own life thus far, and as he’s serving his current prison term (hopefully his very last one!), he’d, realized the wrong steps he’d taken thus far, and, decided to make the changes, to make sure he doesn’t, go down the wrong roads in his own life again, and hopefully, that will to change in him, will be enough, to keep him from straying again.

The Pastor Opened Up a Farm, to Teach the Inmates to Plant the Produce So They Have a Viable Way to Make a Living After Their Release

A preacher, with the work of God, in helping to reform the inmates who are released, giving them a set of viable skills that they can make a living off, so they are less than likely, to return back to their former ways of life, a life of crimes, off of the Newspapers, translated…

The pastor from the Ming-Der Rehabilitation Center of Tainan Penitentiary System Hu was once a successful businessman, after his failed ventures in business, after he hit her all-time low in he life, she went into the seminary school, and started spreading the gospels to the inmates in prison, saw a lot of how the drug addicts failed in getting cleaned up, she’d set up the “Yong-Hsin Home Happy Farms”, to help the reformed inmates have a viable way to make a living, he’d stayed at the far all day long with the released inmates, from the beginning of the program, there’d only been one individual and now there’s, ten, the Yong-Hsin Home Happy Farms became a halfway house for the released drug addicts, where they get to set up their own means to make a living for the rest of their lives.

Hu had the ups and downs in working in business, due to owing too much in debts in his business ventures, he’d lost support from his own families, became severely depressed, originally wanted to commit suicide to end his own life, he was, saved, and, made a miraculous complete recovery, he’d believed, that God saved him for a reason, and gained a whole new lease on life, in his family’s encouragement, he went into seminary school, and started spreading the gospels in prison regularly.

the photo of the man, setting up a halfway house for the released prisoners, off of UDN.com

He’d preached to the Ming-Der Rehabilitation Center of Tainan for over a year, and stayed with the addicts, and understood why many of the cases why they’d failed, primarily due to how after the inmates releases, they’d wanted to return back to the society, but lacked the environment that served as a middle ground.

He’d selected a farm as a halfway house for the reformed, released convicts, and stayed with these released inmates twenty-four seven at his farm.  He said, that the halfway house acts to help an unsteady sapling, with the four sticks on four sides, the ropes, steadying the young sapling, to have it set its roots down in the stable environment, then, it can grow on its own to become, stronger.

Hu told, that the primary produces of the farm were mangoes, vegetables, and all of the released inmates at the beginning told him that they couldn’t plant it, and now, they’re, sweating along, growing the foods that they’re consuming, he bore witness to how the reformed inmates are, getting their lives back on the right tracks step by step.

Hu Supervised the Released Inmates to Get Certified.

It was three years ago when Hu started up the Yong-Hsin Home Happy Farms, recently, he’d set up the “Take Me Home Workshop” in Yongkang, Tainan, selling the handmade buns with feelings, the traditional Chinese buns, and dumplings made by the inmates who’d been released from prison, helping those addicts who are trying to stay clean to have a stable sources of income, and the skills, to start off a business of their own.

“Guo”, who’d been successful in getting cleaned, had perfect skills in making the dumplings, he’d only worked odds and ends from before, thought that he couldn’t be successful, after a little over a year’s training and learning, he’d become, a certified professional.

Another released inmate, Yang already, passed his level C certification in baking, at first he’d told, “certification for me?  Not possible!”, Hu asked the instructors to train him in his baking skills, and, forced him to take the skills certifications exams, “the pressure had been, enormous, but, in his pushing me, I actually, passed, I’m, encouraged by the man completely.”

And so, this is the wonderful thing this man is doing, for the released inmates, because they lacked the skills, and had been in prison for, many years, they are normally, detached from the rest of the outside world, and, this workshop served as a halfway place, a transitional place for these reformed, released inmates to acquire a skill that they can live off, to help them better support themselves, so there would be less of a chance, they’re to, return back to their former lives of crimes.

The Drug-Dealer Turned into a Program Against Addiction Hero, Started His Business to Help Those Who had Been Released from Prison

How this dealer turned his own life around, and is now, helping others who are like him when he was younger, using his example as a what-not-to-do of sorts for the younger generations of offenders, off of the Newspapers translated…

The assistance of C.E.O. of the Fujiang Human Resources Agency, Jiang from Hsinchu had a long juvenile history, stolen cars, gotten addicted to drugs, sold the substances illegally, went in and out of prison a total of six times, imprisoned for a total of seventeen years; his daughter didn’t understand why he did what he did, his families treated him as stranger, after he was out on parole, he’d, changed his ways, turned over a new leaf.  He was grateful for his prison cell mate, Liao who’d given him a hand in changing his own ways, and now, as an assistant C.E.O., he’d hired a lot of those who were released from prison, hoping that he can give someone else a helping hand that s/he needed in life.

傷疤刻劃不懂事的年少 洗心革面拉更生人一把 – YouTube

the interview of the man, talking of his youth and inexperience that’s gotten him into a life of crimes, and yes, the link works!

In middle school, Jiang was taken into juvenile detention for stealing cars, and he’d later dropped out of school and gotten involved in gang activities, and as he’d started working as a singing companion in the karaoke bars, he’d gotten into drugs, and because he has a complex social circle, he’d gotten addicted.  After he was out of the armed services, he was desperate to make the money quickly, and started trafficking drugs, and gotten involved in printing the counterfeit bills too, involved in arms, in and out of prison six time total, and spent a total of seventeen years in prison.

“When I got taken away, my daughter was only two years old………” Jiang recalled those final ten years of his life of losing his freedom, he told, back then, his daughter was estranged from him, and couldn’t understand why he did what he’d done, he’d contemplated on his own life in the future, and decided to change, to help his families find back the faith they’d lost in him.

As he got out on parole, Jiang started working as a construction worker, hauled the cement to provide for is family, and because he overworked himself, he had a fracture, but to make sure his families had enough, he can only keep going, but, it’d, caused a long-term complication on his fractured hand.  His prison cell mate Liao saw that he couldn’t keep making a living like this, and, pulled him along in his business, and his life became, more stable.

Jiang who’d been put into prison for drug trafficking had already, slowly, let go of that awful part of his own past, and, started getting involved in the not-for-profit organizations to volunteer, and he would deliver the meals to the elderly who live alone in Hsinchu, and also works as the lecture of Anti-Drug Abuse of the county of Hsinchu, everybody who knew him called him an anti-drug abuse hero, but what he’d hoped more is, that what happened on him, don’t get experienced by the younger generation of children, and hoped that his hard work can help the society feel more love and compassion too.

Jiang Called Out to the Released Inmates: Don’t Give Up on Yourselves

“The trials I’d faced after my release, was no easier than when I’d entered into prison, and if my families lacked the understanding of my situation, I may easily gone back, and get sent back to prison again”, Jiang told, that after the release, the inmates are faced with the problems of livelihood, a place to stay, and having food, he’d once gone to a job interview for a security guard and got shot back, for the sole reason of him with a previous prison record; he wanted to tell those who are just released, “So long as you are willing to work hard, to not give yourselves any spare time, then, you will, find a brand new way of life.”

Jiang had watched many of his fellow inmates who couldn’t adapt to the world outside and returned back to prison again, he said, other than the environments, the choices of how you want to live your life, the support of the families will be the key determinant of whether or not you can, begin again, the will and faith of the released inmates are the most important.  A year after he was released, he was baptized, with Christianity as his faith, with the support of his friends from church, he’d gone to the services, the activities regularly, and gotten away from all those bad influences in his own past who can affect him in a bad way, “The support of the church really did help me a lot!”

Jiang reminded his fellow released inmates, to NOT give up on themselves just because others may have given up on them, like how the protection organizations for released inmates are silent supporting the released, reformed inmates to return back to society, to NEVER give up hope.

And so, this, is how this man was able to, turn over a new leaf in life, he’d had a bad track record, and decided to turn his own life around, for the sake of his families, and his families became a motivation, for him, to NOT return to his old ways, and having the families as support is very important for these prisoners, because, if your families can’t even accept you, then, how can the rest of the outside world, but unfortunately, not all families of the inmates are, as understanding as this man’s families turned out to be, and he’d had to, prove it to them, that he wasn’t, going back down that same road from before.

To Fulfill Their Dreams, Wei-Xun Yen Donated Over 40,000 Bowls of Suspended Noodle, He’d Sent the Developmentally Delayed Children Out to Sea on a Yacht

Good deeds are still, “infectious” here, translated…

Yen, who was originally a mobster, because the deities appeared to him in a dream, with the consoling of his mother, he’d, turned his own life around, he’d started trekking the island, to donate funds to the orphanages, and he’d borrowed from the ideas of foreign cultures and started providing the donated perishables to help those in need, in just four years, he’d given over 40,000 bowls of noodles, yesterday, he’d even fulfilled the dreams of nearly a hundred residents of an orphanage’s dream of “going out to sea on a yacht”.

“Teacher, look, so many boats”!, the students came to the pier, and were all very, excited, and as they’d set sail on a multi-million dollar yacht, they’d enjoyed the sea breeze that brushed against their faces even more; the teacher, Chen said, that as the children learned that they’re taking a trip out to sea on a yacht, all of them got very excited.

he used to be a gangster from before, photo from online…

Actually, the starter of this program, Yen, was imprisoned for manslaughter charges when he was just fifteen, for killing a person with whom he got into a verbal altercation with, he said, that back then, he’d hung around with the wrong crowds every day, that late one night, he’d dreamed that a deity told him, that “do good, you will have problems resolved”, he was doubtful, closed his tattoo parlor, and set up a temple, he received probation for his crimes, and, it’d waken him up, and decided to start anew, as a brand new man again, set up a community, went around the island, to perform the acts of kindness, in one month, he’d trekked across the distant regions, and, donated to over a hundred orphanages.

Yen borrowed the acts of kindness from the international fronts, in his mother’s noodle shop in the marketplace, hung up the sign of “Do-Good Noodle Stand”, and started up the plans of providing the noodles to the needy free of change, so the guests can pay for the unserved noodle, so those who needed the food can have it without having to pay for it, and, his act of kindness, had made a fellow gangster motivated to help out too.

Yen said, that he’d visited an orphanage to deliver the resources, and saw how the children were, drawing out their wishes of setting sail there, and he’d started up the “Distant Dreams” activities, not only was he able to raise a total of $125,000N.T. in funding, the yacht owners supported his cause too, and helped fulfilled the children’s dreams of setting sail out to sea.

“Everybody is glad to help out”, the C.E.O. of the Four Seasons Bay, Lin said, all of our yacht owners were more than happy, to be able, to help out with this cause.

and now, he’d sorted through the donations with his friends, and sent them to the orphanages, for those in need!  Photo from online

And so, all it took, for this man, to realize that he was on the wrong paths in life, was having a dream of the local deities, and that was enough, to help steer his life in the right directions, and he’s now, helping to fulfill the dreams of children who couldn’t afford to dream.

This showed, that all you need, to turn your life around, is just that one good thought first, then, you work hard at it, and, you will surely, make a difference in the world too, just as this man had!