A big demonstration occurred in Taiwan.
Today, over ten thousand people gathered at
Taipei to protest against the abuse by the military.
A 24 year old guy died after a punishment of
the military on July 4 2013. He had only 3 days left before completion of conscription
term. He was found to possess a mobile phone with cameras which was prohibited.
So he was forced to exercise in the hot sun to be fatal.
After his death, the military began to
investigate this accident. The forensic report has determined that his death was
not an accident but a result from faults of the military. Thirty three persons
responsible for the case have been penalized already, of which 15 was charged. The defense minister has also resigned. Moreover, President Ma Ying-Jeou apologized
officially. Nevertheless, citizens seem not to calm down.
The participants reached two hundred thousand,
according to the sponsor. It is common that the scale of activity tends to be
overestimated. Even if the real number of participants were one-tenth, however,
it is no doubt that this demonstration is gigantic. The population in Taiwan is
only 23 million. Over 0.1 % of all the Taiwanese have been activated. It was
impossible in Japan even after the 3.11 accident of atomic power plants.
The government of Taiwan seems to face a difficult
situation to deal with the military. Participation in the military service is a
duty of citizen in Taiwan. However, this system of conscription will be
terminated in 2014. I guess one of the reasons is hatred of the citizens. This
demonstration may be also an expression of disbelief for the military.
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