Amendments to the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法) would remove regulations that are unconstitutional and bolster the training and independence of military trial professionals, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
The Ministry of National Defense began working on amendments to the act after President William Lai (賴清德) last week announced that the nation would reinstate the military court system in response to China’s increasing infiltration and espionage activities in the Taiwanese defense system.
Military court judges would work with prosecutors to handle criminal cases involving military personnel who are on active duty, such as rebellion, leaking secrets, dereliction of duties and disobedience, Lai said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) is to convene a Cabinet meeting in the first half of next month to hear strategies and action plans to be implemented by government agencies to counter the threat from China, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told reporters at a news conference after the Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
“The government would also make major revisions to the part of the previous military court system that was widely criticized and inconsistent with the Constitution. Once reinstated, the military court should be a system allowing fair trials, protecting human rights with due processes and fulfilling the requirements in the constitution, while maintaining order and discipline in the military. Professionals in the military trial system should receive training and adjudicate independently,” Lee said.
Asked about the difference in penalties that would be imposed on retired military personnel and those on active duty, Lee said that they would undergo different trial procedures, adding that judges would decide the types of criminal trials that a person should undergo based on facts.
Contradictions in rulings between the military and civilian courts could be avoided through investigation of evidence and the three levels of the court system, she said.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Jury Association urged the government to reinstate a committee to investigate and accept appeals for unjust cases in the military before reinstating the military trial system.
The appeals committee was established when the government abolished the military trial system following the death of army specialist Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲秋) in 2013, association chairman Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文隆) said.
However, the committee ceased to function after operating only for one year, Cheng said.
“While it is necessary to reinstate the military court system for national security reasons, not reinstating an independent and effective appeal committee for unjust cases in the military would leave military personnel without protections, and could damage their morale and the image of the military,” Cheng said.
The appeals committee is intended to provide supplementary details to the official investigations, rather than replacing prosecutors, he said.
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS