Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Taipei yesterday to protest the death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘), who allegedly died from abuse while serving in the military.
Singing a Taiwanese version of the revolutionary song Do You Hear the People Sing? — one of the songs from the musical Les Miserables — white-clad protesters rallied on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, demanding that the military reveal the truth about Hung’s death and calling for the government to push for better protection of human rights in the military.
The demonstration was held on the eve of Hung’s funeral and attracted 200,000 people, according to event organizer and activist group Citizen 1985. Police estimated the crowd as numbering 110,000.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The group had previously said that it hoped “to attract 100,000 people to the rally to bid Hung farewell and push the government to investigate the case impartially.”
Among other appeals made by the demonstrators were calls for the Special Investigation Division to immediately launch a probe into the case, a review all similar cases reported in the past and the passage of legislation to allow service personnel to be tried in civilian courts in peace time rather than by court-martial.
Hung, a National Cheng Kung University graduate, died of heatstroke on July 4, following exercises he was forced to do as part of his punishment while confined to detention barracks for bringing a camera-equipped cellphone onto his base on June 28 without permission.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
His death, just two days before he was due to be discharged after completing his year-long compulsory military service, has sparked a public outcry, with thousands of protesters holding a rally in front of the Ministry of National Defense on July 20 to demand an investigation.
Military prosecutors have found that some of the defendants held grudges against Hung and had colluded to bypass standard disciplinary procedures in order to subject him to punishment that was more severe than his offense merited.
Eighteen army officers have been indicted on charges of causing the death of a subordinate, impinging upon individual freedom or handing out unauthorized punishments.
Photo: CNA
All four army personnel detained during the investigation were released on bail on Thursday and Friday, a decision by the military court that the Hung family said it would appeal.
“Thank you everyone for helping us find the truth,” Hung’s mother, in tears, told the crowd, which responded by chanting “Go, go, go” as an encouragement to the family.
“On July 3, I received a call and rushed to the hospital, where the person I saw was not my son, but a body with many medical tubes coming out of it,” she said. “July 3 was the most heart-breaking day of my life. I cannot not believe that my healthy, active son is gone forever.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“The military told me heatstroke was the reason for [his] death,” she said. “In the month since then, we have waited, but we have not been given the truth, honesty and justice we were promised.”
During the protest, demonstrators shouted slogans and held placards bearing messages such as “We want the truth,” “We want the perpetrators to be punished,” “We want reform” and “The president must take responsibility for human rights in the military.”
“I am mourning for Hung and I want the truth. I hope there won’t be any more abuse and deaths like his in the military,” protester Jenny Tan said.
Photo: CNA
The demonstrators also projected the Chinese characters yuan (冤, “injustice” or “wronged”) and zhen xiang (真相, “truth”) on the Presidential Office with LED lights.
They also observed a 30-second silence for Hung.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office, which on Friday said there had been no tampering with the surveillance footage of the holding cell where Hung was confined prior to his death, has said it will continue its investigation into whether a military hospital should be held accountable for document forgery and involuntary manslaughter.
The Cabinet called a press conference at 9:50pm in response to the demands.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said the Executive Yuan will establish a commission comprising officials and representatives from human rights groups and civil groups, to re-investigate possible cases of human rights abuses in the military.
The Executive Yuan will also push for the revision of the Code of Court Martial Procedure (軍事審判法) to allow cases of abuse in the military to be reviewed in civil courts in peace time rather than by court-martial.
Jiang pledged the government will spare no effort to investigate Hung’s case to uncover the truth and to thoroughly review the military disciplinary procedures.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS