To prevent soldiers from being abused, a group of academics and retired generals yesterday suggested that a "military personnel law" be passed to clearly define the duties and responsibilities of military personnel.
"Soldiers are not second-class citizens. They should be citizens in uniform. Their duties should not include killing and burying hogs infected with foot-and-mouth disease. Nor should they be involved in cleaning up oil pollution from the beach as has happened recently," said Academia Sinica scholar Chen Hsin-ming (
"It is one of the reasons why we need a `military personnel law.' We need the law to establish the status of military personnel as `citizens in uniform,' Chen said.
Military personnel should no longer be treated unfairly, as they are now," he said.
Chen is one of the scholars promoting the legislation of the law.
Chen made the remarks yesterday at a press conference held by the KMT-affiliated National Policy Foundation to illustrate why a military personnel law is necessary for the country.
Scholars and retired generals associated with the foundation also showed up to drum up support for the move.
Su Chi (
"The former KMT-run government made mistakes and improperly used military personnel on missions such as reaping rice crops for farmers and handling hogs infected with foot-and-mouth disease," Su said.
"We are not seeking to create troubles for the DPP-led government. We hope they will not repeat the same mistakes as we did before. We hope the proposed new law will be beneficial not only to military personnel but also to the whole country," he said.
Speaking on the same occasion, retired Lieutenant General Shuai Hua-ming (
"Military personnel should not be used on missions that can be dealt with without their participation. When I was an army company leader several decades ago, I was required to sign an agreement with the civilian sector on behalf of my company to provide assistance if a neighboring nuclear power plant developed problems," Shuai said.
"I signed the agreement, but I could not help asking myself what kind of assistance my company could offer to that nuclear power plant. We had not been trained or equipped to handle a nuclear contingency. Fortunately, nothing of the kind has happened yet," he said.
With a military personnel law in place in the future, Academia Sinica's Chen said military commanders at all levels would have to adjust themselves to new leadership principles.
"The existing leadership principles demand that subordinates strictly obey their superiors. These principles often contribute to a disrespect for human dignity. I once heard a four-star general abuse a three-star general with very insulting language," Chen said.
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