The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus is to propose a referendum on implementing military trials and martial law, after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced plans to reinstate the system, people familiar with the matter said today.
Sources said that the KMT caucus plans to propose a referendum on the question: “Regarding President Lai declaring China as a ‘foreign hostile force’ and cross-strait affairs entering a quasi-war state, do you agree that Taiwan should follow Ukraine in implementing martial law and reinstating military trials?”
The KMT said that Lai aimed to stoke internal confrontation rather than safeguard national security, accusing the president of becoming more like a dictator.
Photo: Taipei Times
Lai is restricting people’s rights in the name of national security, risking a rise in cross-strait tensions, the KMT said.
Doubting whether reinstating military trials would solve human rights issues in the military, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) yesterday asked whether Lai proposed restoring the system because he thinks the military has no sense of mission or honor.
Wang also asked if Taiwan is going to war, as the military trial system was abolished as it was considered unnecessary during peacetime.
KMT Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) questioned whether Lai proposed such an important bill to help with the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) mass recall campaign against KMT lawmakers.
Lai might have learned from suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 last year, KMT Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) said, adding that Lai should not take the wrong path and should listen to the people.
In April last year, KMT legislators made a similar proposal to Lai’s announcement when they submitted amendments to Article 34 of the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法) that would allow crimes to be tried by military courts instead of the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法).
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) today called for the DPP to present a bill if it wants to promote military reform.
There was no discussion, not even a bill, with the defense minister disappearing from public view, Huang said, adding that the public has no idea regarding the problems that Lai’s proposal is trying to solve and what the solutions could be.
Freedom, rule of law and civil rights are Taiwan’s most precious assets, Huang said.
The reason Taiwanese refuse to be ruled by the Chinese Communist Party is because they want to preserve Taiwan’s freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law, he said.
The DPP should be scrutinized as to whether its actions are in line with the founding principles of the nation, he added.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan
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