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.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS