Court-martials during the Martial Law era were a “system of suppression” through which authorities violated human rights and freedoms, and through which the president could decide who lived or died, the Transitional Justice Commission said on Sunday in a new report.
Citing its research into the period, the commission said then-president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) had the power to review the rulings of all military tribunals — which were also used to try even civilians during that period — making him no different from an authoritarian dictator.
The 1931 ROC Political Tutelage Period Act (中華民國訓政時期約法) stipulated that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would lead the government and the military, and was applied to Taiwan after the Republic of China took control of it and its outlying islands in 1945.
In 1948, the National Assembly implemented the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion (動員戡亂時期臨時條款), and in May 1949 imposed martial law on Taiwan and the outlying islands, which was not lifted until July 15, 1987, by then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), although not in Kinmen and Lienchiang counties until 1992.
The provisions remained in place they were redacted by then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in 1991.
The Executive Yuan repeatedly said during the Martial Law era that the judiciary and military courts would handle different cases, with the latter retaining the power to rule on criminal cases, the report said.
The report cites the case of Lin Pang-chun (林邦均), who was arrested with two others on charges of financial crime in 1950, and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but Chiang Kai-shek later reviewed their case and sentenced all three to death.
In 1975, the Executive Yuan requested that those accused of contravening the Criminal Code, the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) or the Act for the Control and Punishment of Banditry (懲治盜匪條例), and whose cases concerned national security or the military, have their cases reviewed directly by it, which would then transfer the cases to a military court for rulings, the report said.
Some victims of political persecution had their cases reviewed by senior military officers even though they were not in the armed forces, the report said.
Independent rulings were impossible under martial rule given the ultimate power that the president and senior military officers had over court rulings, it said.
Another case cited in the report is that of Changhua monk Kao Chih-te (高執德) and two others who were sentenced in 1954 to 12 years in prison for harboring communists, but were later executed after Chiang Kai-shek reviewed their case.
“Chiang [Kai-shek] ordered that he retain control of the outcome of military trials, a violation of the constitutional principle of the separation of powers,” the report said.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the