TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – During a session of the National Defense Committee at the Legislative Yuan on Nov. 9, Kuomintang Legislator Wu Sz-Huai (吳斯懷) asked the Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) about restoring the Military Trial Law (軍事審判法) for Taiwanese troops on active duty.

Chiu responded that he “privately agrees” that the law should be reinstated, and that it would likely improve behavior on Taiwan’s military bases, reported Now News. However, Chiu acknowledged procedural problems exist in doing so, and that reinstating the Military Trial Law is a matter for the Legislative Yuan to decide.

The Military Trial Law calls for soldiers who commit crimes to be tried by military courts. The law was rescinded in August 2013 following the death of Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘).

Chiu was an army specialist who died after being disciplined for using a camera phone on base. He was forced to do strenuous exercises, which led to heatstroke and organ failure.

There was an attempt to coverup the details of Hung’s death, which led to the case being transferred to a civilian court. Several military officers involved in the case received prison sentences. Laws in Taiwan related to court martial procedures and conscription were also amended following the case.

During a session focused on the inspection of military bases on Wednesday, Wu told the minister of defense that since taking office in 2020, many in the military have asked about reinstating military courts for active personnel to improve troop discipline and combat readiness. He claimed that in the years since the law was rescinded, there have been many examples of troops showing lax discipline without being properly reprimanded.

Wu noted that out of 32 crimes by active duty personnel over the last decade, 90% of them were acquitted by civilian courts. This has led to a decline in discipline, morale, and the leadership ability of Taiwan’s military officers, Wu claimed.

Wu listed two examples of soldiers who were found not guilty by civilian courts following actions that would have led to serious punishments under the Military Trial Law. One case involved a soldier arbitrarily leaving his post for four days to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday, while another involved a soldier smearing semen on a female soldier’s toothbrush.

Although each branch of the military maintains legal departments to enforce discipline, the offices do not currently engage in investigations, trials, or carrying out sentencing.

When asked about the possibility of reinstating harsher penal codes for military personnel under the Military Trial Law, Chiu expressed agreement that it would be beneficial to improving Taiwan’s military leadership, reported Now News. He said that if the procedures were followed seriously, he did not think that the provisions of the law would be abused.