The bodycam footage of police shooting undocumented Vietnamese migrant worker Nguyen Quoc Phi nine times isn’t the most harrowing scene in And Miles to go Before I Sleep (九槍) — it’s the ensuing moments, which feels like a suffocating eternity, where Nguyen is left naked on the ground to bleed out.
An ambulance arrives and inexplicably takes a person who was punched in the nose by Nguyen to the hospital first, while officer Chen Chung-wen (陳崇文) repeatedly tells those at the scene not to approach the seriously injured Nguyen because he’s dangerous.
This controversial case from 2017 touches upon numerous topics, from appropriate use of police force to migrant worker mistreatment and racism. Nguyen, who was allegedly on drugs, refused to comply with police and attempted to steal a patrol car. He later succumbed to his wounds, while Chen was convicted of negligent manslaughter. He avoided jail time and settled with Nguyen’s family out of court. Meanwhile, the Hsinchu County Police Bureau was censured for “inadequate training” leading to the use of excessive force, delay in getting medical help and tampering with crime scene evidence.
Photo courtesy of And Miles to go Before I Sleep
Both sides have their supporters. Chen reportedly already used pepper spray and his baton on Nguyen before pulling his firearm, and police reluctance to use their guns for fear of such repercussions has been a point of contention whenever an officer is killed by a suspect. To Chen’s family and advocates, Nguyen was a drug-addicted criminal who attacked first, and Chen should not be punished for simply for doing his job.
This perspective is only slightly touched upon in the film, as it mostly avoids getting into the argument of who’s right or wrong. The shooting mostly serves as a vehicle to humanize Nguyen and explain the complicated circumstances that drove him and countless others to desperation.
As director Tsai Tsung-lung (蔡崇隆) said in an interview: “What killed Nguyen Quoc Phi wasn’t merely those nine shots.”
Photo courtesy of And Miles to go Before I Sleep
Tsai interviews Nguyen’s family in Vietnam, speaks to his coworkers in Taiwan and intersperses emotional excerpts from Nguyen’s Facebook posts about his hardships in Taiwan, his hopes for the future and his yearning for his family. Context is provided through interviews with lawyers, brokers and agencies involved in the hiring of migrant workers, as well as scenes of the various incidents and tragedies involving migrant workers over the years, as well as protests held against their exploitation and abuse.
Mixing calm, atmospheric shots with interviews and news footage, And Miles to go Before I Sleep weaves together a sympathetic, but not overly sentimental portrait of Nguyen and others who have suffered similar fates. These workers don’t run away for no reason. In Nguyen’s case he was ripped off by his broker and paid significantly less than promised, leading him to flee for better opportunities. Tsai doesn’t go into detail, but provides just enough context to give the viewer a general idea of the issue.
One element that’s largely missing is a discussion about racism toward Southeast Asians. For example, how did it play a part in the police’s seemingly callous actions, especially after the shooting? Endemic discrimination toward migrant workers are briefly mentioned, but the viewers are left to draw their own conclusions.
Photo courtesy of And Miles to go Before I Sleep
Chen’s conviction doesn’t change the fact that there are still more than 80,000 undocumented migrant workers in Taiwan living under often hazardous and abusive conditions. Like the experts in the film say, major systemic changes are needed, but that has been slow to happen.
Regardless of whether discrimination played a role in the actions of the police, the ongoing debate over appropriate gun use among Taiwanese police officers is also worth exploring, especially after the killing of two officers last August. But that’s a topic for another documentary.
July 1 to July 7 Huang Ching-an (黃慶安) couldn’t help but notice Imelita Masongsong during a company party in the Philippines. With paler skin and more East Asian features, she did not look like the other locals. On top of his job duties, Huang had another mission in the country, given by his mother: to track down his cousin, who was deployed to the Philippines by the Japanese during World War II and never returned. Although it had been more than three decades, the family was still hoping to find him. Perhaps Imelita could provide some clues. Huang never found the cousin;
On Friday last week, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency very excitedly proclaimed “a set of judicial guidelines targeting die-hard ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists” had been issued “as a refinement and supplement to the country’s ‘Anti-Secession’ law” from 2005, with sentencing guidelines that included the death penalty as an option. At the same time, 77 People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft were flown into Taiwan’s air defense identification zones (ADIZ) in just 48 hours, a high enough number to indicate the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was peeved about something and wanted it known. What was puzzling is that the CCP always
Once again, we are listening to the government talk about bringing in foreign workers to help local manufacturing. Speaking at an investment summit in Washington DC, the Minister of Economic Affairs, J.W. Kuo (郭智輝), said that the nation must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high end manufacturing by 2040 to offset the falling population. That’s roughly 15 years from now. Using the lower number, Taiwan would have to import over 25,000 foreigners a year for these positions to reach that goal. The government has no idea what this sounds like to outsiders and to foreigners already living here.
David is a psychologist and has been taking part in drug-fueled gay orgies for the past 15 years. “The sex is crazy — utterly unbridled — which of course is partly down to the drugs but also because you can act out all your fantasies,” said the 54-year-old, who has been in a relationship for two years. Chemsex — taking drugs to enhance sexual pleasure and performance — “has opened a whole world of possibilities to me,” David added. “Sex doesn’t have to be limited to two people... There is a whole fantasy and transgressive side to it that turns me on. It