To counter Chinese infiltration in the military, President William Lai (賴清德) last week announced plans to reinstate the military trial system after convening a national security meeting with high-ranking officials.
Amendments would be made to the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法) to bring military judges back to the front line to collaborate with judicial authorities to handle criminal cases involving active-duty military personnel accused of treason, aiding the enemy, leaking classified information, dereliction of duty, insubordination and other military offenses, he said.
Serving military officers committing military offenses that contravene the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) would be tried by military courts if the amendments are passed.
Apart from amending the Military Trial Act, Lai said he would propose a military judge personnel management act, a military court organization act, and a military prosecutors’ office organization act to optimize the military trial system to garner public trust and support for the change.
The military trial system has a long history closely related to martial law. Many political prisoners, such as those involved in the Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件), were tried in military courts.
Military trials were usually conducted quickly, creating the potential for unjust verdicts and wrongful convictions. Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶) was executed in 1997 at the age of 21 for a case in which he was convicted of sexually abusing and murdering a five-year-old girl. He was acquitted 15 years later in a posthumous trial which ruled that his statements were made against his will, with prosecutors saying that he had been tortured.
The military court system was disbanded after the death of Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘), a young corporal, sparked public outrage in 2013.
Hung’s death led to backlash against the military trial system.
Chinese infiltration in the military has become increasingly severe. Military officers have been lured into signing declarations stating that they would not resist in case of Chinese invasion. Some of them have been persuaded to leak classified information. There are currently 43 cases of military officers accused of spying for China.
Therefore, it is necessary to restore the military trial system to uphold military discipline and safeguard national security.
However, human rights issues should also be taken into account. Cases handled by the new military trial system should be limited to offenses concerning military duties.
Serving military officers contravening the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces, committing crimes such as offenses against allegiance to the nation, would face military trials. However, service members committing general crimes should be handled by the civilian judiciary. Needless to say, military trials should not be applied to civilians.
The restored military trial system should be evidence-based and uphold procedural justice to avoid wrongful cases, which occurred in the absence of these conditions in the past.
The authorities should consider inviting non-governmental organizations to oversee the revised system.
In fact, military trials exist in democratic countries around the globe. They are held under stringent procedures that mirror civilian courts and uphold evidentialism.
It is unnecessary to associate military trials with martial law. As we witnessed what happened to impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol after his failed martial law bid, no president would be reckless enough to follow suit.
Liu Chao-lung is an associate professor at National Changhua University of Education’s Department of Public Affairs and Civic Education.
Translated by Fion Khan
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