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Thousands take to
streets for Hung
CALL FOR CHANGE: The demonstrators made three
demands, including a Special Investigation Division probe into army corporal
Hung Chung-chiu’s death
By Rich Chang / Staff reporter, with agencies
People take part in a
demonstration on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday in memory of Hung
Chung-chiu, whose funeral takes place today, and to demand that the
circumstances surrounding his death are properly investigated.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
People gather on Ketagalan
Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday to remember
the late corporal Hung Chung-chiu.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The family of Hung Chung-chiu
bows to thank the participants in yesterday’s demonstration to mark Hung’s
funeral, which takes place today.
Photo: CNA
A man participating in
yesterday’s demonstration at Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei holds up a sign with
word “anger” yesterday.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The Chinese character yuan,
meaning “injustice” or “to be wronged,” is projected onto the Presidential
Office last night.
Photo: CNA
Tens of thousands of people took to the
streets of Taipei yesterday to protest the death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu
(洪仲丘), who allegedly died from abuse while serving in the military.
Singing a Taiwanese version of the revolutionary song Do You Hear the People
Sing? — one of the songs from the musical Les Miserables — white-clad protesters
rallied on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, demanding
that the military reveal the truth about Hung’s death and calling for the
government to push for better protection of human rights in the military.
The demonstration was held on the eve of Hung’s funeral and attracted 200,000
people, according to event organizer and activist group Citizen 1985. Police
estimated the crowd as numbering 110,000.
The group had previously said that it hoped “to attract 100,000 people to the
rally to bid Hung farewell and push the government to investigate the case
impartially.”
Among other appeals made by the demonstrators were calls for the Special
Investigation Division to immediately launch a probe into the case, a review all
similar cases reported in the past and the passage of legislation to allow
service personnel to be tried in civilian courts in peace time rather than by
court-martial.
Hung, a National Cheng Kung University graduate, died of heatstroke on July 4,
following exercises he was forced to do as part of his punishment while confined
to detention barracks for bringing a camera-equipped cellphone onto his base on
June 28 without permission.
His death, just two days before he was due to be discharged after completing his
year-long compulsory military service, has sparked a public outcry, with
thousands of protesters holding a rally in front of the Ministry of National
Defense on July 20 to demand an investigation.
Military prosecutors have found that some of the defendants held grudges against
Hung and had colluded to bypass standard disciplinary procedures in order to
subject him to punishment that was more severe than his offense merited.
Eighteen army officers have been indicted on charges of causing the death of a
subordinate, impinging upon individual freedom or handing out unauthorized
punishments.
All four army personnel detained during the investigation were released on bail
on Thursday and Friday, a decision by the military court that the Hung family
said it would appeal.
“Thank you everyone for helping us find the truth,” Hung’s mother, in tears,
told the crowd, which responded by chanting “Go, go, go” as an encouragement to
the family.
“On July 3, I received a call and rushed to the hospital, where the person I saw
was not my son, but a body with many medical tubes coming out of it,” she said.
“July 3 was the most heart-breaking day of my life. I cannot not believe that my
healthy, active son is gone forever.”
“The military told me heatstroke was the reason for [his] death,” she said. “In
the month since then, we have waited, but we have not been given the truth,
honesty and justice we were promised.”
During the protest, demonstrators shouted slogans and held placards bearing
messages such as “We want the truth,” “We want the perpetrators to be punished,”
“We want reform” and “The president must take responsibility for human rights in
the military.”
“I am mourning for Hung and I want the truth. I hope there won’t be any more
abuse and deaths like his in the military,” protester Jenny Tan said.
The demonstrators also projected the Chinese characters yuan (冤, “injustice” or
“wronged”) and zhen xiang (真相, “truth”) on the Presidential Office with LED
lights.
They also observed a 30-second silence for Hung.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office, which on Friday said there had been no
tampering with the surveillance footage of the holding cell where Hung was
confined prior to his death, has said it will continue its investigation into
whether a military hospital should be held accountable for document forgery and
involuntary manslaughter.
The Cabinet called a press conference at 9:50pm in response to the demands.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said the Executive Yuan will establish a commission
comprising officials and representatives from human rights groups and civil
groups, to re-investigate possible cases of human rights abuses in the military.
The Executive Yuan will also push for the revision of the Code of Court Martial
Procedure (軍事審判法) to allow cases of abuse in the military to be reviewed in
civil courts in peace time rather than by court-martial.
Jiang pledged the government will spare no effort to investigate Hung’s case to
uncover the truth and to thoroughly review the military disciplinary procedures.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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