Tony Lu's Expository Writing Blog : Final Paper

Abstract

In May, 2013, after the conflicts between Taiwan and the Philippines has exploded. Many Taiwanese people were totally angry about what the Filipino had done to Taiwan. The incident caused hatred for the Filipinos between the Taiwanese. A woman called Miss. Dong (董小姐) updated a Facebook status which was about a Filipino migrant worker got rejected for buying boxed lunch. Miss. Dong eventually helped the Filipino to buy the boxed lunch as well as gave him an extra one.

Although the incident was unreal in the end, we cannot ignore the courtesy of Miss. Dong for telling people that we cannot shift our anger from Filipino government to the migrant workers. However, the power of net pals and the speed of passing the information have contorted the whole incident. People focus on the accuracy of the incident and blame Miss. Dong for concocting it. They don’t regard it as a simple story that wants to express some warnings to the society, but keep finding the truth that they think it was. Eventually, the net pals even used human flesh search method to force Miss. Dong come out and apologize to the whole society, which cause great pain and pressure on her. This incident also converts to the Filipino government and did great harm to the image of our government.

As we know that in the democratic society, everyone has the right to express his or her feeling or opinion. However, is it true that what majority say stand in justice? People tend to follow what the majority thinks without considering the accuracy and the fact. In this incident, we all know that Miss. Dong neglected the subject when posting the article. That is to say, she just heard the boxed lunch incident from the people passed by her; however, she transformed the incident from objectivism to subjectivism. Nevertheless, does she deserve this much blaming and critics? The good intention was twisted by the ‘’justice’’ of the net pals. Moreover, Miss. Dong harmed none in this incident. Why she shall suffered from Human Flesh Search? Being criticized and watched by the public at any moment will truly do great harm to a person’s life.

The project is to treat the matter of the consequence of Human Flesh Search. Although the rapid booth of Internet makes Human Flesh Search become a new and convenient method of solving social problems. However, does it become mature enough to be a legitimate method in the society? These are what I am going to carry out the research about.

Texts

1. Is Human Flesh Search a Proper Method to Investigate Criminals?

As I have mentioned in my abstract that maybe we should think twice about the fairness and legitimacy. That is, it somehow complicates the privacy and illegal problems. If a person is really considered as illegal or immoral, but does his or her family members who has nothing to do with the incident have to endure being exposed to the public? It will really bother their daily life.

According an article I found on Yuen-zi University online news called ''Is Human Flesh Search Righteous?'' When exposing one's personal information such as telephone number, address...etc. It will violate the Computer-Processed Personal Data Protection Law. Although the motivation of searching the suspects may stands in justice. However, many of the behaviors are based on moral problems. Law problem mostly have nothing to do with their actions. Forcing them to unfold their privacy to the public is to some degree more immoral.
What's more, by reading an article from Chi Chu magazine online, many police officers tend to use human flesh search to investigate the crime. It really helps them find the criminals and evidences easily. However, what's more concerning is that when they uses human flesh search engine to find the criminals as well as the parties and witnesses, their scars and pains suffer from the crime will be exposed to the society. Does this really means that it will solve the problem? I think it may make the incident more complicated, and the privacy of the victims will not be protected.
Therefore, human flesh search is still be regarded as an impropriate method to me. It's not mature enough through laws and moralities.

2. Social Structure makes Human Flesh Search Become Cyber Violence

Also, I find out that the social structure makes Human Flesh Search become a kind of cyber violence. In my reading in tutorial by a guy named Hsiao Long Lee on the Internet, I found out that Human Flesh Search starts and ends in four categories, which are the motivation as well as the outcome are both rightful, the motivation is rightful but the outcome is foulness, the motivation as well as the outcome are both foulness, and the motivation is foulness but the outcome is rightful. That is, the motivation of an Human Flesh Searching incident might be proper and correct; however, the outcome is very possible to be contorted. Or even if the motivation is incorrect and the outcome accidentally turns out to be right, the improper motivation still makes the whole incident become foulness. People in the event most likely will change from righteous net pals into Internet mobs. When they are searching the suspects, they will reveal all the personal details such as his or her family or address on purpose, which will cause serious privacy problems. Not to mentioned the motivation as well as the outcome are both foulness category. In this kind of event, the net pals tend to be under educated.

Human tends to forget what their original purpose is, when they are searching the person they want, they tend to reveal all the things about the person. This will indeed turn a justice into a scandal. Everyone wants to be paparazzi, but where is the real fact and truth? This will seriously causes severe moral and public profit problem. In my reading, I know that if Human Flesh Search is based on subservience, which can do well with the society, it won’t be illegal. However, many of the events tend out seriously affecting the suspects life. Although, the suspects might truly do harm to the society; however, what the Internet mobs have done is another way of harming the society. By the convenience of the media, the incident will turn out more and more complicated, and the truth will easily be covered by the mobs. The society will also turn out to be panic due to the privacy problem. Most people that accept the message mostly don’t think deeper about the accuracy. That is to say, they tend to gather together to create a disturbance and causes great pain to the victims especially the suspect’s family. Therefore it is not easy to hold the benevolent motivation in order not to become non-rational and gossiping mobs.

3. Proper Law Procedure is the Only Way to Strike the Balance Between the Freedom of Speech and Moral Denouncement.

We all know that in the contemporary society, the freedom of speech should not be deprived. That is to say, if the right of speaking and writing freely has to be protected, why the arguments as well as the opinions that stand in the minority should be forced to be human flesh searched? If the speech or perspective is improper or offending, why not deliver the person to the proper law treatment?

I found an article that explains the confusion of law on '' Law Taiwan.com(台灣法律網)'' It points out that '' In order to maintain human dignity and the free development of respect for human, freedom and democracy are core values of the constitutional order. Privacy rights enumerated in the Constitution, though not explicitly, but based on human dignity and integrity of the maintenance of individual subjectivity and personality development, and for the protection of personal life private areas from harassment of others and self-control of personal information, privacy is considered to be the basic rights not cannot be lack of. The problem is that human rights of privacy often has conflicts with human flesh search. In addition to the fact that human flesh search invades people's privacy, the long-term harm that has brought to them may not balance with the degree of punishment, violating the principle of ''crime and punishment balance (罪刑相當原則) '', but may also be in violation of "presumption of innocence (無罪推定原則)" and "due process (正當法律程序)" and cause "rehabilitated (更生)" obstacles, so it should be properly regulated and give relief to the victims of the pipe (Civil Code Section 195, Penal Code section 310, etc.); but even the victims petition of relief, it is also time-consuming and money is significant, also the profit of winning the petition is often less than the original plan in mind, so relief is the last of the petition means.''

I also read an article online that is written by professor Hsheh who majors in law, he makes notes that John Mill, the famous political economist said, freedom of speech allows people the chance to get the truth. His reason, is nothing more than a variety of views can be fully discussed in the world of freedom of speech, the truth is out. You can easily see that this idea is not only presupposes the willingness and ability of people to have a rational discussion, more fundamental , is the need for the majority of people have freedom of speech, only you have, or just you and your companions, little effect. The professor Hsheh also points out that we should not prohibit hate speech, because it was not the best response to the person holding the mentality of hatred.

That is, the ‘’aliens’’ such as people or speech should not be banned as well as be searched out even if most people cannot accept the different speech what he or she said. Once it involves law or country safety issue, which is serious and tremendous, the profits and the efficiency of finding out the negative figures such as greedy agents. However, the improper procedure makes the whole thing become illegal, and it will also harm the people that innocence, why not deliver it to the accurate law procedure?

4. Human Flesh Search is Produced By Class Violence

By the continuous development of computer technology, the Internet has rapidly become not only a part of our life, but a main channel of passing the information. However, the obtention as well as the usage of the information may affect educational levels and other factors caused by the distribution of social resources on uneven appearance. Whoever gets more information, they are able to become a social media master in the "elite class", whereas the others who are not having the opportunity of digital media are produced by the digital gap. The Advancement information of technology can solve the gap on the geographic space and time, but could not solve the problem of social gaps.

We can see that, in many human flesh search issues, people, especially net pals gather actively to take reactions to the people they cannot accept. Although they are not the ones that are in the core authority, they express the desire of gaining the power. That is to say, by searching people, they can get the achievement that they have never experienced before. Once people gain the power much more than they used to be, they won’t stop before getting too far. Therefore, the things they do have great possibility to make things more complicated and worse. The social gap makes the information unbalanced. Moreover, the media usually stands in the side of people that are in the middle class or even lower class. They will tend to exaggerate the fact in order to meet people’s needs.

Not to mention the people that have no chance to use the internet. Based on the unbalanced information, and the theory ‘’Spiral of Silence’’, which is the theory about minorities' opinion being oppressed by the majorities due to pressure. The facts will be covered by the majority. And the low class people normally are afraid of the pressure of the upper class opinion, so they won’t tend to give out perspectives. This is considered a improper circulation.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, Human Flesh Search is a new method contemporary. It really affects the new concept of searching people and evidence. It indeed is a convenient way that challenges the old legal procedure. However, there are still some social problems that should be solved before popularizing it. I think an environment that can make Human Flesh Search do not carry out unstoppable attack is the society that doesn't have media and information gap. But I think that there shall still be a long way to go.

References

1. Yuan-zi Student Forum, Ya-Wen Cheng, Human Flesh Search, Legal or Not?

http://web2.yzu.edu.tw/e_news/677/6_student01.html

2. Yahoo Social News , Does Homan Flesh Search Stand in Justice?

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/blogs/society-watch/%E4%BA%BA%E8%82%89%E6%90%9C%E7%B4%A2%E5%BE%88%E6%AD%A3%E7%BE%A9%E5%97%8E-092038082.html

3. Show-hon Lee ,Thesis Human Flesh Search and the Post modernity Behavior of Internet

http://big.hi138.com/wenhua/lunlidaode/201103/292015.asp

4. Blog Freedom of Speech and Its Restrictions

http://phiphicake.blogspot.tw/2013/04/blog-post_17.html

5. Ho Ching Thesis Human Flesh Search and the Post modernity Behavior of Internet

http://media.people.com.cn/BIG5/137684/8521516.html

6. Media Gap http://blog.xuite.net/josephjdshen1/manywhysblog/135050112-%E6%97%A5%E4%BA%8CB%E9%AD%8F%E4%BB%8A%E7%B6%AD++++++++%E9%A1%8C%E7%9B%AE%3A%E6%95%B8%E4%BD%8D%E4%BA%BA%E6%

Figure1

While online anonymity makes people able to expose crime and immoral affairs, however, the action often causes unstoppable attack to the victims.

Figure2

Human Flesh Search starts and ends in four categories, which are the motivation as well as the outcome are both rightful, the motivation is rightful but the outcome is foulness, the motivation as well as the outcome are both foulness, and the motivation is foulness but the outcome is rightful.