Lieutenant General Huang Yi-bing (黃奕炳), deputy commander of the army, yesterday bowed to apologize for a brawl between soldiers and civilians at a military facility on the outlying island of Kinmen the previous day, which ended with nine military personnel being injured after civilians broke into the compound.
Huang described the incident as a “simple case” of revenge involving friends of a soldier who had been upset by a punishment meted out by his superiors.
The army would tighten security and conduct a thorough review of security measures at all military bases and make the necessary improvements, Huang said at a press conference, adding that the army would also enhance the training of its personnel in dealing with emergencies.
An investigation by the military found that the civilians were incited by a volunteer serviceman surnamed Chang (張). The soldier, who was disciplined by his superior, surnamed Kao (高), on Tuesday, allegedly incited them for revenge. Chang has been detained by military prosecutors.
Of the nine civilians referred for prosecution, three have been placed in custody and six released on NT$100,000 bail, Kinmen district prosecutors said yesterday.
On Tuesday at 8:30pm, between eight and 12 men riding in three cars started a commotion in front of the base, calling for Kao to come out and explain the incident with Chang, Huang said.
A second lieutenant, surnamed Wang (王), who was in charge of the headquarters battery battalion-level maintenance building, went out to attempt to diffuset the situation, trying to calm the civilians after receiving reports of a commotion, but he was beaten by the civilians after a disagreement, receiving a slight graze to the ear, Huang said.
Just after midnight, a car drove to the entrance of the base, whereby its passengers assaulted the troops on guard duty, before proceeding as far as the front of the maintenance building, Huang said.
The car and its four passengers were taken to a police station after being suppressed by the troops who were alerted to the situation, Huang said, adding that the commander had told his troops not to attack the civilians because “they were irrational civilians and not enemies.”
While the base commander and the chief staff officer were still debating how to toughen base security, a third set of civilians arrived in two cars and eight people who were clearly intoxicated began to attack soldiers with wooden sticks immediately after exiting the vehicles, Huang said.
Huang said that while the second civilian attack occurred inside the base, the third happened outside the main gates.
Asked whether military personnel could use their weapons in the event of violent attacks, Huang said they could fire blanks as a deterrent and, if that did not work, they could use live bullets.
“It is the military’s responsibility to safeguard the country and ensure the security of military sites,” Huang said.
The Control Yuan launched an investigation into the incident yesterday.
Huang Wu-tzu (黃武次), one of the Control Yuan members leading the probe, asked: “How can troops protect the country when they cannot even protect themselves?”
Huang Wu-tzu said that the military failed to take proper precautions after the first provocation.
Lee Ful-dien (李復甸), the other initiator of the investigation, said he would look into other possible flaws on the part of the military when handling the incident.
He said it might be that the military did not take immediate action to stop the youths because the officers handling the case were sympathetic to them.
This might be related to the fact that those officers were also native to Kinmen, he added.
General Wang Shih-tu (王世塗), head of the Kinmen Defense Command, visited Kinmen County Commissioner Li Wo-shi (李沃士) yesterday to exchange views on the incident.
Wang, who is himself a native of Kinmen, said the relationship between the military and Kinmen residents is harmonious.
He said the military personnel responsible for the situation would be punished after the Ministry of National Defense has completed its own investigation.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
RSS