Premier Jiang Yi-huah this evening affirmed a mass street protest in Taipei over a soldier's death as the spirit of democracy at work. "The people took part in a rational, peaceful rally to voice their concern over military human rights and important national issues. This helps the government address flaws in the system and serves as a positive driving force behind democratic development," said the premier.
Today's rally, organized by the activist group Citizen 1985, was held in front of the Office of the President to "bid farewell" to army conscript Hung Chung-chiu and to demand truth and justice over his untimely death. Hung died July 4 on a military base after performing intense physical exercises in sweltering heat as part of disciplinary action imposed on him. The tragedy has tarnished the Ministry of National Defense's (MND) reputation and sparked a wave of anger across Taiwan.
In response, Premier Jiang instructed Minister without Portfolio Luo Ying-shay to form a task force to oversee the MND's review of its disciplinary and appeals systems. The premier also held a cross-agency meeting today to respond to the protester's demands, and announced the government's actions as follows:
1.The Executive Yuan will set up a grievances committee to handle applications for reinvestigations into cases of military injustice and to review possibly unfair trial verdicts from the past. The committee will be headed by Minister Luo and composed of representatives from the MND, Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the legal community, and human rights and civic groups. If the committee accepts an application or suspects wrongdoing in a case, it will access and examine records from the MND. If the case warrants reinvestigation or extraordinary appeal, it will help with the ensuing legal procedures.
2.The Executive Yuan will revamp the Code of Court Martial Procedure to allow military cases to be tried in civilian courts during peace time. Also, Minister Luo's task force has already arrived at several consensuses with the ruling political party after lengthy discussions. To begin with, military criminal cases in which officers are charged with abuse of subordinates, unlawful punishment, murder, obstruction of appeals, or offenses against sexual autonomy should be turned over to the regular judicial system. The next step will be considering a reform of the entire military justice system and transferring all military cases to regular courts. But as these changes involve a major national system, it must be thought through carefully to balance human rights with military discipline.
3.Regarding Hung's unfortunate death, the Executive Yuan has already ordered full-scale investigations by the MOJ and MND. Presently, the military prosecutors office and the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office have completed their respective investigations and handed out indictments or dismissed charges against various individuals. The Special Investigation Division under the Supreme Prosecutors Office has said the Hung case does not fall under its jurisdiction because, by law, military officers charged with violations of the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces must be tried in military court.
4.The Executive Yuan has demanded the MND conduct an immediate and thorough review of its disciplinary, confinement and appeals procedures to eliminate all inhumane practices and illegal abuse of power.
The Executive Yuan is taking this matter very seriously because of its wide-reaching impact on Taiwan society, Jiang said. He hopes the case will promote human rights under the national system, but at the same time does not wish to see the case undermine military discipline or the public's trust in the military.