President William Lai (賴清德) must apologize for stigmatizing military justice, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday, a day after Lai proposed amendments to reinstate military tribunals.
Lai on Thursday announced that the government, as part of broader efforts to combat “China’s infiltration and espionage efforts in the military,” planned to “reinstate the military trial system and bring military justices back to the front line.”
Such changes would require legislative approval. Taiwan abolished the military court system in 2013. While there are still military judges, courts martial are only allowed during times of war.
Photo: CNA
KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) and other lawmakers last year proposed amending Article 34 of the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法) to ensure military tribunals could be convened to protect national interests in wartime, Chu wrote on Facebook yesterday.
Article 34 says that “if part of the crime facts shall be prosecuted and tried by the Code of Criminal Procedure, all parts of the crime shall be prosecuted and tried by the Code of Criminal Procedure.”
The KMT proposal would have guaranteed that the lex specialis doctrine would be preserved should an outbreak of military conflict compel activation of the article, Chu wrote.
While the KMT effort sought to create a robust military judicial system, Lai’s proposal targets the armed forces, seeking persecution using the pretext of it being affected by Chinese espionage, he wrote.
Lai’s proposed changes are “tantamount to an accusation that the armed forces have been infiltrated by China,” he wrote. “It is a political maneuver to target internal enemies.”
“Lai is shamelessly evading his responsibility,” Chu added.
The Lai administration should answer to history and the public over the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) support for the abolishment of military tribunals, which weakened the armed forces and allowed communist infiltration, he said, adding that the DPP government should also apologize for its insult to the military’s good name.
The DPP should support the KMT’s call for increased personnel funding to boost morale and reduce service members’ vulnerability to Beijing’s bribery, he added.
Meanwhile, the KMT caucus is to propose a referendum on implementing military trials and martial law, people familiar with the matter said.
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 sources said.
Separately yesterday, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said that the act is not a substantive law, as it does not define crimes or specify punishments, but merely delineates jurisdictions and procedures.
The Lai administration’s plan to reinstitute military courts is an undefined solution in search of an unidentified problem, as it was announced without discussion, a tangible proposal or a timetable, Huang said.
“It is exceedingly regrettable that an irresponsible party and administrative team is governing Taiwan,” he said, adding that Lai was showing “incompetence while sloganeering and sowing division in society.”
“Taiwan’s most precious assets are its freedom, rule of law and human rights, which set it apart from authoritarian China,” he said.
The DPP should be scrutinized over whether its actions are in line with the founding principles of the nation, Huang added.
Additional reporting by CNA
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,