Secretary of the history of Old Chiayi Prison-Ms. Chiu

（We took pictures with Ms.Chiu）
（picture source：photo by this team）

　　Ms. Chiu intended to obtain the position as a judge through Civil Service Examination during 1950s and 1960s. However, she came to Old Chiayi Prison by chance. She forced herself to come to this deserted place just to survive. Hence, she began her 33 years of a dark trip. This special career changed her philosophy of life. To other people, the prison is nothing but a building which only converses with the sunlight and shadow. But, to Ms. Chiu it was her focus of life and a secret castle she vowed to protect. 

　　She worked as a instructor for the female prison. Her duty was to understand the inmates by talking over and over with them, to help them solve their problems, and to comfort and calm down their hearts. She tried her best to help those stray lambs to return to where they belonged and led them to a bright way.

（During the interview）
（picture source：photo by this team）

　　In this way, Ms. Chiu spent almost half century in the Old Chiayi Prison. She shared efforts, happiness and sadness with the prison. When the prison was about to move, Ms. Chiu, according to Treaties and Agreements on Government Procurement, learned the professional knowledge and skills, and the basic concepts of interior design. She assisted with the searching for the land and negotiating with the landlord. The New Prison was finally located in LuCao. These years Ms. Chiu worked hard to make the prison become a city historical monument and national historical monument. She hopes to change people's mechanical impression of a prison and promote it. In such a special working environment, Ms. Chiu took on different responsibilities and thus led a special and colorful life.

　　At first, Ms. Chiu was a superintendent and then she was promoted to a clerk for the female prison. After that, she was promoted to a instructor. She must have experienced a lot of hardships. Every time we interviewed Ms. Chiu, she would tell her story for three hours nonstop. Old Chiayi Prison must be a deep memory for her. Her passion and devotion to her is even more impressive.

（During the interview）
（picture source：photo by this team）

　　We learned from her not only the history and the current conditions of the prison but also a good example of devotion. Without Ms. Chiu, the Old Chiayi Prison would be a wasteland.

　　We are honored to interview Ms. Chiu. We admired her for what she has experienced. When she told us her story, the smile on her face communicated her sweet memories to us. We hope in the future when we recall the happiness, frustration and sadness we experience, we can have many tales to tell like Ms. Chiu.

（During the interview）
（picture source：photo by this team）

　　When the Old Chiayi Prison was planned to move to the new prison in LuCao, many politics insisted that the old prison should be torn down in the name of urban development. Some enthusiasts like Ms. Chiu and Mr. Guosin Yu tried hard together to save the old prison. In the beginning, they organized activities continuously. The activities were sponsored by Hong-Ya  Bookstore,Chiayi City Humanity Association in turn. Nevertheless, after defined as historical monument, these activities were limited by the law. These activities are getting more important. The purpose is to promote the Old Chiayi Prison and awaken the citizens so that they can cherish and reuse this treasure.

　　When our team took part in some of the historical monuments reservation activities and speeches, Ms. Chiu was also there. Therefore, we know though Ms. Chiu has retired, she still cares about the old prison. She wants to renovate it and pass this unique culture asset on to the future generation.

　　Ms. Chiu has a strong connection with the Old Chiayi Prison. She tasted everything either sweet or bitter in the prison. When she applied for the qualification of a historical monument, the strong will in her mind supported her and told her not to give up this precious treasure. She is still a volunteer and protector for the prison now.

　　Ms. Chiu was born in Tainan. She came to Chiayi due to her job. Being a instructor is not an easy job. There was a lot of pressure. When she met with difficulties, she thought of giving up a couple of times. However, thanks to the support from her family and her strong will, she overcame a lot of difficulties. She believed that "where there is a will, there is a way."

　　When it came to the most impressive incident in the past thirty years, Ms. Chiu remembered a hostess in a bar. The hostess was from TaiChiung Female Prison. She waited on the American soldiers in a club and got addicted to drugs. Whenever she went through a withdraw, after she was imprisoned, she felt like there were millions of ants crawling in her blood vessels. Seeing the horrible scene, Ms. Chiu decided that she wouldn't want to see anyone with the same experience any more. As a result, she dedicated herself to the anti-drugs campaign.

Sources：

• Researched and organized by this team

• Interviews with Ms. Chiu