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*停權中*
加入日期: Sep 2001
文章: 1,933
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BBC-Taiwan protest over Hung Chung-chiu death
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23561244
Tens of thousands of people have rallied in Taiwan's capital, Taipei, to protest against the treatment of a young army conscript who died after being punished for misconduct. Some 18 army officers, including a major-general, have already been charged in connection with the case. The defence minister has also resigned. Hung Chung-chiu, 24, was only three days away from completing his military service when he died of organ failure brought on by heatstroke. Corporal Hung had been held in solitary confinement for bringing a mobile phone with built-in camera onto his military base - and was then subjected to arduous punishment exercises in the hot sun. His death has generated outrage across Taiwan and damaged the standing of the army, which is already struggling to find enough volunteers as it tries to phase out conscription, says the BBC's Charles Scanlon. President Ma Ying-Jeou has publicly apologised and promised justice for the family. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote But protesters in the streets of Taipei, many dressed in white to symbolise truth, said they were not convinced by the sincerity of the investigation in the case. Other families have also come forward to demand justice for their sons who died during military service. "I am mourning for Hung Chung-chiu and I want the truth. I hope there won't be any more abuse and death like his in the military," protester Jenny Tan told the AFP news agency. It is a crisis of confidence for Taiwan's army of more than 200,000, as it tries to maintain the credibility of its defensive stance against the threat from China, our analyst says. All Taiwanese men aged between 18 and 36 are required to complete one year's military service, although there are plans to move to an all-volunteer force. Cpl Hung's funeral is due to be held on Sunday. |
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2013-08-03, 10:05 PM
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*停權中*
加入日期: Sep 2001
文章: 1,933
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Mass protest in Taiwan over conscript
http://news.msn.co.nz/worldnews/870...-over-conscript 03:20 Sun Aug 4 2013 by AAP More than 100,000 people in Taiwan have taken to the streets in protest over the death of a young conscript allegedly abused in the military. Singing a Taiwanese take on the revolutionary song "Do you hear the people sing?" from the hit musical "Les Miserables", protesters rallied at a square near the presidential office in Taipei on Saturday. They were mostly dressed in white, a colour symbolising truth in local culture. It was the second mass protest since Corporal Hung Chung-chiu died of heatstroke on July 4 - apparently after being forced to exercise excessively as punishment for taking a smartphone onto his base - just three days before the end of his compulsory year-long military service. About 30,000 people demonstrated outside the defence ministry in the capital on July 20, according to Citizen 1985, an activist group that organised the protests. "We estimate a bigger turnout today on the eve of Hung's funeral than the previous protest. We hope the government will hear the people's anger at its handling of the case," Liu Lin-wei, a spokesman for the group, told AFP. "I want to thank everyone for your efforts and I hope we can have truth and justice for Chung-chiu with all your help," Hung's mother told the crowd. Organisers claimed 200,000 people joined the protest, while the government's estimate of the crowd size was 100,000. "I am mourning for Hung Chung-chiu and I want the truth. I hope there won't be any more abuse and death like his in the military," said protester Jenny Tan. President Ma Ying-jeou has apologised for the incident and vowed to seek justice for the victim and punish those responsible. "The cabinet has requested the defence ministry and the justice ministry to spare no effort to investigate the case and review the current system to prevent any unhumanitarian actions and abuse of power," Premier Jiang Yi-huah told reporters. |
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2013-08-04, 12:30 AM
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*停權中*
加入日期: Sep 2001
文章: 1,933
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Mass protest in Taiwan over young conscript's death
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...wan/764310.html Tens of thousands of Taiwanese took to the streets Saturday in protest over the death of a young conscript who died from alleged abuse in the latest scandal to rock the island's government. TAIPEI: Tens of thousands of Taiwanese took to the streets Saturday in protest over the death of a young conscript who died from alleged abuse in the latest scandal to rock the island's government. Singing a Taiwanese take on the revolutionary song "Do you hear the people sing?" from the hit musical "Les Miserables," protesters rallied at a square near the presidential office in Taipei, mostly dressed in white -- a colour symbolising truth in local culture. This was the second mass protest since corporal Hung Chung-chiu died of heatstroke on July 4 -- apparently after being forced to exercise excessively as punishment for taking a smartphone onto his base -- just three days before the end of his compulsory year-long military service. About 30,000 people demonstrated outside the defence ministry in the capital on July 20, according to Citizen 1985, an activist group that organised the protests. "We estimate a bigger turnout today on the eve of Hung's funeral than the previous protest. We hope the government will hear the people's anger at its handling of the case," Liu Lin-wei, a spokesman for the group, told AFP. Police estimates of the crowd size were not immediately available. "I am mourning for Hung Chung-chiu and I want the truth. I hope there won't be any more abuse and death like his in the military," said protester Jenny Tan. President Ma Ying-jeou, whose approval ratings have plummeted in recent months, has apologised for the incident and vowed to seek justice for the victim and punish those responsible. Amid mounting public anger, defence minister Kao Hua-chu stepped down earlier this week while 18 military officials have been charged over Hung's death, including the former commander of his brigade. They were indicted on charges ranging from abuse leading to death and involuntary manslaughter to imposing illegal punishment on a subordinate and offences against personal liberty, according to military prosecutors. The 24-year-old had been subjected to exercises that were "unbearable, cruel and abusive", resulting in his death from multiple organ failure triggered by heatstroke, prosecutors said. He was sent to solitary confinement and ordered to do the exercises as a punishment for bringing a camera phone to camp and for defying his superiors on some duty assignments, according to the indictment. Hung's family have said that he had previously filed complaints about other abuse meted out by his superiors. Prosecutors did not specify what jail terms they were seeking. Legal experts say the most severe charge is of abuse leading to death, which is punishable by life imprisonment. Citizen 1985 has criticised the indictment as "hasty and sloppy," saying only one sergeant was charged with fatally abusing while other higher ranking officers were indicted with lesser charges. - AFP/nd |
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2013-08-04, 12:36 AM
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