Have We Forgotten the Facts? — A Cultural Reflection on Media Portrayal of Aaron Yan and the Ethics of Charity Reporting

Recently, Taiwanese celebrity Aaron Yan has reemerged in the media spotlight, appearing at public welfare events supporting rural children’s education. In a wave of glowing coverage, he is described as being “touched by children,” “healed by music,” and even “reminding the public not to give up on doing good because of injustice.” Yet these stories rarely, if ever, mention his criminal case, and fail to engage with key facts affirmed by a court of law.

According to the Shilin District Court Criminal Judgment 112-Su-543, Aaron Yan was found to have continued possessing illegal content up to July 3, 2023, despite the revised Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act having already come into force in February of that year. The ruling states:

“The defendant [Aaron Yan] continued to possess the video footage in question without lawful reason, even after the amended Act came into effect on February 17, 2023, until police seizure on July 3, 2023.”

During this period, Yan was actively present in the public eye — including interrupting a press conference on June 21 to offer a sudden apology to the victim, which itself made headlines. Now, as he reappears in a new role as a “charity ambassador,” with no public reckoning or honest disclosure, the media must ask itself:

What have we forgotten? Who have we silenced?

In reporting stories of charity and redemption, we must not allow feel-good narratives to erase the facts — especially when these facts involve crimes against minors. Silence is bias. What we choose to report is a declaration of values.

Justice and charity must not be built on selective memory.