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Ma has lost his
chance to reform the military
By York Chen 陳文政
The death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) has created a massive backlash
and dealt the army a peacetime defeat. The case exposed a long-standing problem
in military culture.
When Andrew Yang (楊念祖) was appointed the first civilian minister of national
defense in a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration by President Ma
Ying-jeou (馬英九), we could have narrowed the gap between military culture and
social values, taking a first step toward military reform.
Just as reform was about to happen, the military suffered another blow when Yang
resigned after only six days. The approval ratings for both Ma and the military
slumped due to a series of military scandals, which have been the greatest
frustrations to military reform.
A civilian defense minister is normal in a democracy. It is an indication of a
democracy’s maturity. Under the National Defense Law (國防法), a defense minister
can command the armed forces. The military will only be able to perform at its
best when both the military and the civilian systems are allowed to do their
jobs. For those who still have reservations about a civilian defense minister,
it may be a matter of sour grapes or a misunderstanding.
A civilian defense minister is no guarantee of successful military reform, but
it would be a first step. Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) appointed a
civilian as defense minister in February 2008, but Michael Tsai’s (蔡明憲)
appointment came too late, making reform implementation difficult.
Ma has had much better conditions than Chen had to appoint a civilian defense
minister. Unfortunately, he attaches little importance to national defense,
seeing it as a tool to be called on when needed and then dismissed — a useless
hammer in peacetime. He lacks enthusiasm for defense reform, let alone the
cultivation of a civilian defense administrative team.
The political appointees in charge of national defense issues at the National
Security Council are a reserve talent pool, but Ma has given all the defense
positions to military leaders. Yang did not even dare hire a civilian policy
secretary when he entered the Ministry of National Defense. When he had to step
down due to a plagiarism scandal, there was no one that could move into his
position. The KMT is close to the military, so it is ironic that the party
cannot find a civilian replacement for Yang.
As the scandal surrounding Hung’s death grows, angry military officers often
say: “Television commentators are vicious, politicians are hateful and angry
youth who have not performed their military service are pathetic.”
If the military cannot even resist attacks from media pundits, politicians and
angry youth, how will it be able to resist the People’s Liberation Army?
Reputation is what others think of you, but aspiration lies with you. The US
military lost its reputation in the Vietnam War, not its aspiration. It managed
to regain public trust during the Gulf War.
While serving in the ministry, I heard of some military misconduct, but I saw
even more hard-working officers with a sense of responsibility. If the good ones
want to drive out the bad, the military must ignore embarrassment and engage in
self-reflection.
Without a civilian defense minister, the military is led by a flag officer. No
matter how open-minded the military defense minister is, all personal enmities
from before he was promoted could become a burden on reform.
Tsai served as a civilian defense minister for about 100 days under Chen. Yang
remained at the post for six days. What a pity. The last hope for military
revitalization lies with our military personnel. Hopefully, they can make a
difference.
York Chen is an assistant professor in the Graduate Institute of
International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University.
Translated by eddy chang
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