Former army corporal Hung Chung-chiu’s (洪仲丘) death in 2013 sparked public outrage as people were appalled by the inappropriate discipline in the military.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets with the intention of making the management of the nation’s army safer and more efficient.
Then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) responded to the growing public anger by abolishing the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法) in a rush.
The US, leader of the world’s democracies, still has military tribunals, because military discipline is the root of military power and the survival of a nation.
Perhaps for Ma, it is better for Taiwan to not have the ability to defend itself, so that he can achieve the “peaceful unification” that he desires.
However, Taiwanese should understand that peace requires solid war preparation. This discourages aggressors, and an important part of this is military discipline.
Over the past few years, Taiwanese have gradually come to realize that they were too quick to call for the abolition of military trials — which had nothing to do with Hung’s death — and that the lack of it has done great damage to the nation’s security.
The US has also repeatedly reminded Taiwan of this danger.
A report titled Latest feasibility evaluation of the restoration of the Military Trial Act was released by the Ministry of National Defense, with Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) expressing public support for the restoration of the Military Trial Act.
Most politicians in Taiwan have been silent when it comes to military trials for fear of offending Hung’s supporters.
However, the international situation is changing and the issue of Taiwan’s defense is becoming even more important.
It is not only the Taiwanese who are attaching more importance to bolstering the nation’s defense capabilities. Neighboring allied countries are watching Taiwan’s performance as well.
National security should not be sacrificed for the sake of politics.
Hung’s case happened more than 10 years ago. There is no reason for amendments to be met with much criticism or to be called a rushed policy reversal.
The Formosa Republican Association, of which I am the chairman, has held a seminar for the military affairs group of the “Taiwanese warrior promotion program,” inviting a number of retired generals and experts to discuss how to strengthen Taiwan’s defense capabilities. Once again, the experts brought up the significance of restoring military trials.
Today, as technology develops and diversity in society grows, ensuring proper military discipline is also becoming increasingly more difficult.
Taiwan’s judiciary is plagued by its own problems and its workload has been heavy due to numerous fraud cases. As a result, trials often span a very long period.
As the US continues to tighten its containment of China, Beijing’s urgency to annex the nation has increased as well. Chinese have even infiltrated the military.
Given these factors, the need to reinstate the Military Trial Act only grows stronger.
Tommy Lin is the chairman of the Formosa Republican Association.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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