Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) has proposed a draft amendment that would allow Republic of China (ROC) armed forces personnel to receive the Order of Loyalty and Valor for deeds of bravery even when the nation is not at war.
Air force colonels Wang Tung-yi (王同義) and Chuang Pei-yuan (莊倍源) made sure that they did not crash into civilian housing before their jets crashed; but as they did not die in a war, they cannot be awarded the order posthumously, Tsai said.
Citing Article 6 of the Armed Forces Decoration Act (陸海空軍勳賞條例), Tsai said that recipients of the order must “fight valiantly against exterior forces and refuse to retreat even when injured,” a requirement which Tsai said no longer befits the nature of missions the nation’s troops are charged with today.
In the explanation he provided for the draft amendment, Tsai said Wang and Chuang, who died in 2012 and 2014 respectively, both delayed parachuting to avoid crashing into civilian housing.
However, as the regulations have not been amended for many years and are out of touch, commending Wang’s and Chuang’s selfless acts by awarding them the order is not allowed, Tsai said.
According to the proposed amendment, the president would be able to confer the order on military personnel who set inspiring examples by loyally performing their duties and demonstrating extraordinarily valiant behavior beyond the call of their duties in order to protect civilians.
Tsai said he tabled the draft amendment after family members of Wang and Chuang suggested that an amendment was needed, adding that he hopes the Ministry of Defense can be more flexible in awarding medals to military personnel.
The ministry should consider conferring the order to military personnel who have demonstrated bravery in the past if the amendment is passed, he said.
Ministry spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said Wang and Chuang were posthumously promoted to colonel, and that they were granted the Medal of Brilliant Light and the Medal of Victorious Garrison respectively.
Lo expressed his gratitude to Tsai for attaching importance to the work of military personnel.
However, the ministry needs to review the conditions and the review mechanism concerning the conferral of medals before making its stance on the amendment known, he said.
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