AI 助陣醫學、防疫，個人隱私難兩全？

2021/06/09 研之有物

規範不完備是臺灣個資保護的一大隱憂，《個資法》問世遠早於 AI 時代、去識別化定義不清、缺乏獨立專責監管機構，都是當前課題。

評論

本篇來自合作媒體研之有物，作者周玉文、黃曉君，INSIDE 經授權轉載。

AI 醫療、科技防疫的人權爭議

健康大數據、人工智慧（AI）已經成為醫療研發的新聖杯，新冠肺炎（COVID-19）更將 AI 技術推上防疫舞臺，各國紛紛串聯大數據監控足跡或採用電子圍籬。但當科技防疫介入公衛醫療，我們是否在不知不覺中讓渡了個人隱私？

中研院歐美研究所副研究員何之行認為，規範不完備是臺灣個資保護的一大隱憂，《個資法》問世遠早於 AI 時代、去識別化定義不清、缺乏獨立專責監管機構，都是當前課題。

「天網」恢恢，公衛醫療的新利器
自 2020 年新冠疫情大爆發，全世界為了因應危機展開大規模協作，從即時統計看板、預測病毒蛋白質結構、電子監控等，大數據與 AI 技術不約而同派上用場。但當數位科技介入公共衛生與醫療健康體系，也引發人權隱私的兩難爭議。

2020 年的最後一夜，臺灣再次出現本土案例。中央流行疫情指揮中心警告，居家隔離、居家檢疫、自主健康管理的民眾，都不應參加大型跨年活動。而且，千萬別心存僥倖，因為「天網」恢恢，「我們能找得到您」！有天網之稱的電子圍籬 2.0 出手，許多人拍手叫好，但也挑起國家進行隱私監控的敏感神經。

隱私爭議不只在防疫戰場，另一個例子是近年正夯的精準醫療。2021 年 1 月，《經濟學人》（The Economist）發布亞太區「個人化精準醫療發展指標」（Personalised-health-index）。臺灣勇奪亞軍，主要歸功於健全的健保、癌症資料庫及尖端資訊科技。

國際按讚，國內反應卻很兩極。早前曾有人質疑「個人生物資料」的隱私保障，擔憂是否會成為藥廠大數據；但另一方面，部分醫療研究者卻埋怨《個人資料保護法》（簡稱《個資法》）很嚴、很卡，大大阻擋了醫學研發。為何國內反應如此分歧？

中研院歐美所副研究員何之行認為，原因之一是，

《個資法》早在 2012 年就實施，跑在 AI 時代之前，若僅僅仰賴現行規範，對於新興科技的因應恐怕不合時宜。

健保資料庫爭議：誰能再利用我們的病歷資料？

來看看曾喧騰一時的「健保資料庫訴訟案」。

2012 年，臺灣人權促進會與民間團體提出行政訴訟，質疑政府沒有取得人民同意、缺少法律授權，逕自將健保資料提供給醫療研究單位。這意味，一般人完全不知道自己的病例被加值運用，侵害了資訊自主權。案件雖在 2017 年敗訴，但已進入大法官釋憲。

民間團體批評，根據《個資法》，如果是原始蒐集目的之外的再利用，應該取得當事人同意。而健保資料原初蒐集是為了稽核保費，並非是提供醫學研究。

但支持者則認為，健保資料庫是珍貴的健康大數據，若能串接提供學術與醫療研究，更符合公共利益。此外，如果過往的數據資料都必須重新尋求全國人民再同意，相關研發恐怕得被迫踩剎車。

種種爭議，讓醫學研究和資訊隱私之間的紅線，顯得模糊而舉棋不定。何之行指出，「個人權利」與「公共利益」之間的權衡拉鋸，不僅是長久以來政治哲學家所關心的課題，也反映了現代公共衛生倫理思辨的核心。

我們有權拒絕提供資料給醫療研究嗎？當精準醫療的腳步飛也似向前奔去，我們要如何推進醫學科技，又不棄守個人的隱私權利呢？

「精準醫療」與「精準健康」是近年醫學發展的重要趨勢，透過健康大數據來評估個人健康狀況，對症下藥。但健康資料涉及個人隱私，如何兼顧隱私與自主權，成為另一重要議題。

去識別化爭點：個資應該「馬賽克」到什麼程度？

何之行認為，「健保資料庫爭議」短期可以從幾項原則著手，確立資料使用標準，包括：允許退出權（opt-out）、定義去識別化（de-identification）。

「去識別化」是一道安全防護措施。簡單來說：讓資料不會連結、辨識出背後真正的那個人。何之行特別分享 Google 旗下人工智慧研發公司 DeepMind 的慘痛教訓。

2017 年，DeepMind 與英國皇家醫院（Royal Free）的協定曝光，DeepMind 從後者取得 160 萬筆病歷資料，用來研發診斷急性腎衰竭的健康 APP。聽來立意良善的計畫，卻引發軒然大波。原因是，資料分享不僅未取得病患同意，也完全沒有將資料去識別化，每個人的病史、用藥、就醫隱私全被看光光！這起爭議無疑是一大教訓，重創英國社會對於開放資料的信任。

回到臺灣脈絡。去識別化指的是以代碼、匿名、隱藏部分個資或其他方式，無從辨識特定個人。但要達到什麼樣的隱匿保護程度，才算是無從識別特定個人？

何之行指出，個資法中的定義不甚清楚，混用匿名化（anonymous）、假名化（pseudonymised）、去連結（delink）等規範程度不一的概念。臺灣也沒有明確定義去識別化標準，成為爭點。

現行法令留下了模糊空間，那麼他山之石是否能提供參考？

以美國《健康照護可攜法案》（HIPAA）為例，法案訂出了去除 18 項個人識別碼，作為去識別化的基準；歐盟《一般資料保護規則》則直接說明，假名化的個資仍然是個人資料。

退出權：保留人民 say NO 的權利

另一個消解爭議的方向是：允許退出權，讓個人保有退出資料庫的權利。即使健保資料並沒有取得民眾事前（opt-in）的同意，但仍可以提供事後的退出選項，民眾便有機會決定，是否提供健康資料做學術研究或商業運用。

何之行再舉英國國民健保署 NHS 做法為例：英國民眾有兩階段選擇退出中央資料庫 （NHS Digital）的機會，一是在一開始就拒絕家庭醫師將自己的醫病資料上傳到 NHS Digital，二是資料上傳後，仍然可以在資料分享給第三方使用時說不。畢竟有人願意為公益、學術目的提供個人健康數據，對商業用途敬謝不敏；也有人覺得只要無法辨識個人即可。

近年，英國政府很努力和大眾溝通，希望民眾認知到資料分享的共善，也說明退出所帶來的社會成本，鼓勵人們留在資料庫內，享受精準醫療帶給個人的好處。可以看到英國政府藉由公眾溝通，努力建立社會信任。

參照英國經驗，目前選擇退出的比率約為 2.6%。保留民眾某種程度的退出權，但善盡公眾溝通，應是平衡集體利益與個人隱私的一種做法。

歐盟 GDPR 個資保護的四大原則

健保資料庫只是案例之一，當 AI 成為大數據浪潮下的加速器，最周全之策仍然是針對 AI 時代的資料運用另立規範。 歐盟 2018 年實施的《一般資料保護規則》（General Data Protection Regulation，以下簡稱 GDPR），便是大數據 AI 時代個資保護的重要指標。

因應 AI、大數據時代的變化，歐盟在 2016 年通過 GDPR，2018 年正式上路，被稱為「史上最嚴格的個資保護法」。包括行動裝置 ID、宗教、生物特徵、性傾向都列入被保護的個人資料範疇。
歐盟在法令制定階段已將 AI 運用納入考量，設定出個資保護四大原則：目的特定原則、資料最小化、透明性與課責性原則。

其中，「目的特定」與「資料最小化」都是要求資料的蒐集、處理、利用，應在特定目的的必要範圍內，也就是只提供「絕對必要」的資料。

然而，這與大數據運用需仰賴大量資料的特質，明顯衝突！

大數據分析的過程，往往會大幅、甚至沒有「特定目的」的廣蒐資料；資料分析後的應用範圍，也可能超出原本設定的目標。因此，如何具體界定「特定目的」以及後續利用的「兼容性判斷」，便相當重要。這也突顯出「透明性」原則強調的自我揭露（self-disclosure）義務。當蒐集方成為主要的資料控制者，就有義務更進一步解釋那些仰賴純粹自動化的決策，究竟是如何形成的。

「透明性原則的用意是為了建立信任感。」何之行補充。她舉例，中國阿里巴巴集團旗下的芝麻信用，將演算法自動化決策的應用發揮得淋漓盡致，就連歐盟發放申根簽證都會參考。然而，所有被納入評分系統的人民，卻無從得知這個龐大的演算法系統如何運作，也無法知道為何自己的信用評等如此。

芝麻信用表示，系統會依照身分特質、信用歷史、人脈關係、行為偏好、履約能力等五類資料，進行每個人的信用評分，分數介於 350-950。看似為電商系統的信用評等，實則影響個人信貸、租車、訂房、簽證，甚至是求職。

這同時涉及「課責性」（accountability）原則 ── 出了問題，可以找誰負責。以醫療場域來講，無論診斷過程中動用了多少 AI 工具作為輔助，最終仍須仰賴真人醫師做最後的專業判斷，這不僅是尊重醫病關係，也是避免病患求助無門的問責體現。

科技防疫：無所遁形的日常與數位足跡

當新冠疫情爆發，全球人心惶惶、對未知病毒充滿恐懼不安，科技防疫一躍成為國家利器。但公共衛生與人權隱私的論辯，也再次浮上檯面。

2020 年 4 月，挪威的國家公共衛生機構推出一款接觸追蹤軟體，能監控足跡、提出曾接觸確診者的示警。但兩個月後，這款挪威版的「社交距離 APP」卻遭到挪威個資主管機關（NDPA）宣告禁用！

挪威開發了「Smittestopp」，可透過 GPS 與藍牙定位來追蹤用戶足跡，提出與感染者曾接觸過的示警，定位資訊也會上傳到中央伺服器儲存。然而，挪威資料保護主管機關（NDPA）宣告，程式對個人隱私造成不必要的侵害，政府應停止使用並刪除資料。

為何挪威資料保護機關會做出這個決定？大體來說，仍與歐盟 GDPR 四大原則有關。

首先，NDPA 認為挪威政府沒有善盡公眾溝通責任，目的不清。人民不知道這款 APP 是為了疫調？或者為研究分析而持續蒐集資料？而且，上傳的資料包含非確診者個案，違反了特定目的與資料最小蒐集原則。

此外，即便為了防疫，政府也應該採用更小侵害的手段（如：僅從藍牙確認距離資訊），而不是直接由 GPS 掌控個人定位軌跡，這可能造成國家全面監控個人行蹤的風險。

最後 NDPA 認為，蒐集足跡資料原初是為了即時防疫，但當資料被轉作後續的研究分析，政府應主動說明為什麼資料可以被二次利用？又將如何去識別化，以確保個資安全？

換言之，面對疫情的高度挑戰，挪威個資保護機關仍然認為若沒有足夠的必要性，不應輕易打開潘朵拉的盒子，國家採用「Smittestopp」這款接觸追蹤軟體，有違反比例原則之虞。

「有效的疫情控制，並不代表必然需要在隱私和個資保護上讓步。反而當決策者以防疫之名進行科技監控，一個數位監控國家的誕生，所妥協的將會是成熟公民社會所賴以維繫的公眾信任與共善。」何之行進一步分析：

數位監控所帶來的威脅，並不僅只於表象上對於個人隱私的侵害，更深層的危機在於，掌握「數位足跡」(digital footprint) 後對於特定當事人的描繪與剖析。

當監控者透過長時間、多方面的資訊蒐集，對於個人的「深描與剖繪」（profiling）遠遠超過想像──任何人的移動軌跡、生活習慣、興趣偏好、人脈網絡、政治傾向，都可能全面被掌握！

AI 時代需要新法規與管理者

不論是醫藥研發或疫情防控，數位監控已成為當代社會的新挑戰。參照各國科技防疫的爭論、歐盟 GDPR 規範，何之行認為，除了一套 AI 時代的個資保護規範，實踐層面上歐盟也有值得學習之處。

例如，對隱私風險的脈絡化評估、將隱私預先納入產品或服務的設計理念（privacy by design），「未來照護機器人可能走入家家戶戶，我們卻常忽略機器人 24 小時都在蒐集個資，隱私保護在產品設計的最初階段就要納入考量。」

另外最關鍵的是：設置獨立的個資監管機構，也就是所謂的資料保護官（data protection officer，DPO），專責監控公、私營部門是否遵循法規。直白地說，就是「個資警察局」。何之行比喻，

如果家中遭竊，我們會向警察局報案，但現況是「個資的侵害不知道可以找誰」。財稅資料歸財政部管，健康資料歸衛福部管，界定不清楚的就變成三不管地帶。

綜觀臺灣現狀，她一語點出問題：「我們不是沒有法規，只是現有的法令不完備，也已不合時宜。」

過往許多人擔心，「個資保護」與「科技創新」是兩難悖論，但何之行強調法令規範不是絆腳石。路開好、交通號誌與指引完善，車才可能跑得快。「GDPR 非常嚴格，但它並沒有阻礙科學研究，仍然允許了科學例外條款的空間。」

「資料是新石油」（data is the new oil），臺灣擁有世界數一數二最完整的健康資料，唯有完善明確的法規範才能減少疑慮，找出資料二次利用與科技創新的平衡點，也建立對於資料二次利用的社會信任。

資料來源：https://www.inside.com.tw/article/23814-ai-privacy-medical?fbclid=IwAR0ATcNjDPwTsZ4lkQpYjvys3NcXpDaqsmE_gELBl_UNu4FcAjBlscxMwss

FWD from Sin Yau Chan posted
*令人震驚* ⤵️
日本生理學或醫學教授tasuku honjo博士今天在媒體上表示冠狀病毒不是自然的. 如果它是自然的, 它不會像那樣影響整個世界. 因為, 視自然不同國家的溫度不同. 如果這是自然的, 它只會影響到與中國同樣的溫度的國家. 相反, 它傳播到像瑞士這樣的國家, 就像它傳播到沙漠地區一樣. 而如果它是自然的, 它本來會蔓延到寒冷的地方, 但會死在熱的地方. 我做了40年的動物和病毒研究. 這不是自然的. 它是製造的, 病毒完全是人工的. 我在中國武漢實驗室工作了4年. 我很瞭解這個實驗室的所有工作人員. 在corona事故後我都打電話給他們. 但是, 他們所有的手機都死了3個月了. 現在瞭解, 所有這些實驗室技術員都死了.
根據我迄今為止的所有知識和研究, 我可以以100 %的自信來說, corona是不自然的. 它不是來自蝙蝠. 中國成功了. 如果我今天所說的話現在或者甚至在我死後, 政府可以撤回我的諾貝爾獎. 但中國在撒謊, 這個真相有一天會向所有人透露.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasuku_Honjo
請傳送到最大的數量, 以便罪人必須支付我們所有人身上的一切!!!!
Tasuku honjo -維基百科
Tasuku honjo (日本) (1942年一月27日-1)是日本醫生和免疫學家. 他分享了2018年諾貝爾醫學或生理學獎, 以識別程式設計細胞死亡蛋白質1 (pd-1).[2]他也因其分子ide而聞名.
en.wikipedia.org
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為此翻譯評分
Tasuku Honjo (本庶 佑, Honjo Tasuku, born January 27, 1942)[1] is a Japanese physician-scientist and immunologist. He shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology and is best known for his identification of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1).[2] He is also known for his molecular ide...EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Tasuku Honjo - Wikipedia
Tasuku Honjo (本庶 佑, Honjo Tasuku, born January 27, 1942)[1] is a Japanese physician-scientist and immunologist. He shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology and is best known for his identification of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1).[2] He is also known for his molecular ide...
Tasuku Honjo (本庶 佑, Honjo Tasuku, born January 27, 1942)[1] is a Japanese physician-scientist and immunologist. He shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology and is best known for his identification of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1).[2] He is also known for his molecular ide...Tasuku Honjo (本庶 佑, Honjo Tasuku, born January 27, 1942)[1] is a Japanese physician-scientist and immunologist. He shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology and is best known for his identification of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1).[2] He is also known for his molecular ide...📷EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORGTasuku Honjo - WikipediaTasuku Honjo (本庶 佑, Honjo Tasuku, born January 27, 1942)[1] is a Japanese physician-scientist and immunologist. He shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology and is best known for his identification of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1).[2] He is also known for his molecular ide...Tasuku Honjo (本庶 佑, Honjo Tasuku, born January 27, 1942)[1] is a Japanese physician-scientist and immunologist. He shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology and is best known for his identification of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1).[2] He is also known for his molecular ide...Like

《和屍體說話的人》

Do you believe in past life, and its strong invisible influence over your present life?

He was the Sherlocks Holmes of Taiwan.

The modern day Justice Pao (現代包青天), known to bring justice to murdered victims.

楊青天大人, he was nicknamed by his countrymen.

I had never heard of 楊日松博士, Dr Yang Jih-sung.

Till I read the story written by my Grandmaster, Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, which I posted two days ago.

That was donkey years back.

In my decade long of mastering Chinese Metaphysics, I have amassed hundreds, if not thousands, of Bazi in my crumpled dog-eared notebooks.

One continuous homework that I have been doing since 2006, is to study the Bazi, faces, bodies and lives of not just famous people, people featured in the newspapers (hit-and-run victims, suicide victims, criminals, scholars, helpful people etc.) but as well as people around me.

Shifu said, the more we study, the better and faster we get at dissecting a person's Bazi and people reading.

The goal is to train our eyes and brain so well that we can see a person naked (figuratively, of course) within one split second.

And when a person walks past, without turning our heads to look, we must be able to tell Shifu the current financial state and luck of the person. #aurareading

Such training was very strenuous in the beginning. When I didn't pass the impromptu tests given by Shifu, I was meted harsh punishment and disallowed further learning, till I passed with flying colours.

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I got curious about Dr Yang about a month ago. He had a very fascinating career history.

What does he have in his Bazi, that determines him to be a righteous and dedicated forensic expert with such top-notch crime-solving skills?

What had he done to be bestowed the divine title of 城隍爺 (City God), after his death?

I read that he allegedly handled more than 30,000 bodies over the course of his 62-year career. I took out my calculator. That worked out to 484 bodies every year. 40.3 bodies every month, which is about 1.34 bodies every day.

While all his classmates went off to become doctors, Dr Yang was the only one from his class to take up forensics. It was a decision he made after his brother was forcefully coerced into a confession by the Japanese that he was a spy and wrongfully jailed, and another friend was unfairly charged of being a thief.

Dr Yang learnt early in his life, that eye witnesses were insufficient to solve a case. There was a pressing need for strong scientific evidence.

What caught my eye about Dr Yang was his utmost respect to the dead bodies.

He would always take a bow to the victim before starting work on the dead body.

Through the decades, he had never wore any protective gear like masks and gloves during autopsies.

In his biography:

"A forensic expert’s job is more than just studying and dissecting the bodies. If necessary, we need to taste the contents of their stomachs and determine the time of death from the acidity. We can also tell from the bitterness whether there was poisoning involved.”
He cites a case where three charred bodies were brought in from the same incident.
“They smelled the same, so I could tell that they were burned at the same time. If I wore a mask, I would not be able to observe this subtle detail,” he says. “And, I believe that wearing a mask is disrespectful toward the deceased.”
Finally, he explains that he “cannot feel the elasticity of the skin” if he has gloves on.

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I don't know if you have ever smelt a corpse. But it is known to be extremely foul.

Especially when the bodies have been thrown into the sea, or buried deep in the soil, before digging out much later.

Dr Yang never feared infection by the bacteria in the corpses.

Those were the days when CSI kind of science did not exist.

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楊日松法醫：「你沒有良心，做不了。」

Dr Yang solved his first case when he was just an intern and still a student at Taipei Medical University in 1949. A pair of university lovers supposedly hung themselves by the Tamsui River, but the man survived. Later on, Dr Yang quickly proved that the noose was too small for two persons to be hung together. The man had murdered his girlfriend and staged a suicide attempt, complete with a forged suicide note, to cover up.

Dr Yang was only 21 years old then. (Jeez...what was I doing at 21?)

He went on to solve many difficult cases, which shocked Taiwan's society. Here are just 3 of them:

1. September 1977. It was Taiwan's 1st dismemberment murder case.

Two plastic bags containing about 6 pieces of body parts were found along the Dahan River.

DNA tests were non-existent then.

Dr Yang was called in, and his examination showed that the body parts belonged to the same person. He also provided the victim's age and possible identity at a reporters' conference, where he displayed the body parts on a table, and listed 10 areas of identification.

Including, the mammary glands were not enlarged, proof that the woman had never been pregnant.

And how the woman was possibly murdered and mutilated.

The police soon tracked the murderer to a ex-convict, who put up a false hiring notice, to trick young ladies.

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2. 1990. The murder of a young Japanese undergraduate.

The body could not be found till a year later.

The young lady came to Taiwan for solo free and easy travel. She got onto a taxi, with a friendly driver who showed her around Taiwan. Iguchi Mariko agreed to staying at the driver's home for the night, when she could not find accommodation.

Her body was mutilated into 100+ parts and buried under a big tree. Her head was thrown into a rubbish bin.

When the police caught the taxi driver, Dr Yang provided scientific evidence that the taxi driver washed his home walls with strong chemicals and the water usage during the month of murder was 5 times the usual amount.

While the bones were too damaged to be tested for DNA, Dr Yang could piece them together that they belonged to the same person.

This case shocked both Taiwan and Japan.

3. 1993. The dead Marine Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓)
The Captain was discovered dead along the coast of Yilan. The military claimed it was suicide by drowning. Dr Yang examined the corpse and discovered many wounds. There was no ocean debris in the lungs or other drowning symptoms.
Dr Yang announced that the Captain was murdered before being disposed into the ocean.
His honest words unscrambled a huge military scandal in Taiwan and caused many high-ranking officials to lose their jobs.
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楊日松法醫：「法醫學是人權保障醫學。」

Dr Yang was also involved in the examination of 17-year-old Bai Hsiao Yen's mauled body. During the examination, Bai Bing Bing, the famous Taiwanese actress, mother of the victim, requested to be present.
Calling Dr Yang a Bodhisattva to the family of the victims, Bai Bing Bing was deeply moved by Dr Yang's comforting words to her:
我只能幫你瞭解真相。我沒有辦法再騰出我的手，再來救一個萬一昏倒的人。妳放心，妳信任我，我等一下一定會給妳最清楚的答案。
(I can only help you find out the truth. I am unable to lend another hand, to save a person who might faint. Don't worry. Trust me. Later I will definitely give you the clearest answer.)

Due to the nature of his work, Dr Yang contracted a skin disease, which caused great itchiness. Two months of seeing the doctor and injections did not help. Eventually, Dr Yang learnt of using rice water to wash his skin. Neighbours and Taiwanese who knew of Dr Yang's condition would bring rice water all the way to his home. It took 6 months before Dr Yang's skin ailment was under control.

#好人有好報

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楊日松法醫：「對屍體要誠實。沒有誠實的人，不要來當。」

There were many cases that Dr Yang solved, with supernatural help.

Once, when he was on a car together with his friends, he spotted a lady sitting beside him. He kept quiet as he assumed she was the friend of one friend. Later on, the car was stopped at a roadblock, where the officer told Dr Yang that he was needed at a crime scene. By then, the lady had mysteriously disappeared.

When Dr Yang reached the scene, he saw that the corpse looked exactly like the lady in the car. He knew immediately it wasn't a suicide case, as seen from the surface.

Another time, Dr Yang was at home when there was a knock on his door. He opened the door and saw a lady in a tracksuit with her head down. The lady sought Dr Yang's help to examine her injury. Dr Yang replied that he didn't have his equipment right now and asked the lady to go to the police station tomorrow. The next morning, during an autopsy, Dr Yang saw a body which didn't have clear facial features, as the body was rescued from the river.

He asked for the police to show him the clothes the body was found in. It was the EXACT same tracksuit as the lady who knocked on his door last night.

One day after work, Dr Yang's car was flagged down by a lady standing by the road. It was pouring heavily. Dr Yang got the chauffeur to stop his car and the lady asked to hitch a ride. Dr Yang agreed. The lady remained silent and kept her head down throughout. Dr Yang found her vaguely familiar.

After she disembarked, for some reason, Dr Yang's chauffeur got lost and could not find his way home. For over an hour, his car kept turning around the same spot.

Feeling something was amiss, Dr Yang headed back to Yilan, and re-examined the corpse. He had initially deduced that the corpse had committed suicide by drinking pesticide. On his 2nd examination, he discovered that the pesticide was found in the lungs. Usually for such suicide case, pesticide would be present in the esophagus. But if one was forced to drink it, the pesticide would leak into the lungs. Dr Yang amended his autopsy conclusion of suicide to murder.

Many supernatural incidents like these had alerted Dr Yang to correcting his initial findings, and solving mysterious cases.

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Yet, there were times when Dr Yang was unable to reach a conclusive result despite many rounds of autopsy.

Then, Dr Yang would pray to the "Floating Head" in his autopsy laboratory. It belonged to a murdered victim, whose case was also resolved by Dr Yang. For some reason, the family/friend didn't want to claim the head. The head had been preserved in a glass container of formalin for 50 over years and its hair and moustache would grow. It was the Guardian Protector of Dr Yang and his team.

Each time after Dr Yang prayed to it, he would gain new insights into the case on hand.

During the Hungry Ghosts' Festival, Dr Yang would lead his entire team to pray to the "good brothers" and made many offerings. He had never missed a year of prayers.

While most educated people turn their noses up at the talk of ghosts and gods, this is one Doctor who will bow humbly before them and ingrain into his team the importance of respect.

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Dr Yang told my Grandmaster that in his past life, he was the confidential secretary to the King of Hades. Hence in this lifetime, he took on the role of a forensic expert, helping murdered victims to redress the injustice they suffered.

Dr Yang's Bazi was an interesting revelation to his life and character, and why his occupation suited his Bazi to a T.

During his time, there were less than 10 forensic experts in the whole of Taiwan.

His integrity, courage, care to minute details, diligence, quest to find the truth and dedication are qualities I deeply admired. The same qualities my Shifu had been drilling into me for the past 11 years to be a very competent practitioner.

In this era where most people worship the famous and the rich, it is very rare to find a noble character like Dr Yang, who also respected the spiritual world.

Before he passed on due to colon caner, Dr Yang had expressed no regret over his career choice. The only thing he felt bad about was not being to provide more for his children, as public servants in Taiwan earned much less than doctors.

But Dr Yang, your heroic legacy is one that your children and descendants can speak proudly of for decades. The merits you left for them can guarantee them a better life than money ever can buy.

Dr Yang was born on 23 November, 1927. He passed away on the same day, in 2011.

I wanted to post this article yesterday, on his birthday and death anniversary. I took too long to write and am a day late. But I still wish to share Dr Yang's great life story with you.

Congratulations on your promotion to be the righteous City God. You totally earned it. 🙏

城隍境主楊日松法醫，Happy Belated Birthday, Dr Yang. 🙇🏻‍♀️

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Photo credit to Apple Daily, TVBS Taiwan, and respective owners.

You can learn more about Dr Yang and his work on Youtube by searching for "楊日松".

To read my post where I posted my Grandmaster's article on Dr Yang, link in comment.