Who Should Foot the Bill for Chiang Kuo-ch'ing's Wrongful Execution? ~ Press Conference on the Citizens' Court Observation of the Ministry of National Defense's Claim for Damages Against Ch'en Chao-min et al.

In September of last year (2011), the military court initiated retrial proceedings and acquitted Chiang Kuo-ch'ing, who had already been executed by firing squad. On November 29 of the same year, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) acted swiftly and aggressively, paying out compensation in accordance with the Criminal Compensation Act. Because Chiang Kuo-ch'ing was wrongfully executed at a young age, calculating backward from the average life expectancy of citizens, the compensation amount reached as high as NT$103,185,000.

That same afternoon, the MND immediately announced that it would seek restitution for this massive compensation amount from eight retired military personnel who had committed illegal acts or dereliction of duty: Ch'en Chao-min (then-Lieutenant General Commander of the Air Force Operations Command and former Minister of National Defense), K'o Chung-ch'ing (then-Lieutenant Colonel Staff Officer of the Air Force Anti-Intelligence Team), Teng Chen-huan (then-Major Staff Officer of the Air Force Anti-Intelligence Team), Li Shu-ch'iang (then-Major Counter-Intelligence Officer of the Air Force Sungshan Command), Ho Tsu-yao (then-Captain Air Force Security Officer of the Air Force Sungshan Command), Ts'ao Chia-sheng (then-Colonel and Director of the Legal Affairs Division of the Air Force Operations Command), Chao T'ai-sheng (then-Colonel and Military Prosecutor and Director of the Legal Affairs Division of the Air Force Operations Command), and Huang Jui-p'eng (then-Major Military Prosecutor of the Legal Affairs Division of the Air Force Operations Command). The MND also petitioned the Taipei District Court for provisional attachment against these eight individuals to secure the execution proceedings and prevent the dissipation of assets. The Taipei District Court granted the provisional attachment three days later.

Following successive seizure and attachment procedures, the Taipei District Court finally officially initiated the civil damages lawsuit on April 12, 2012, and held its first hearing belatedly today (Sept. 24). During this period, the Ministry of National Defense Claims Committee continued negotiations with the involved personnel. It maintained that Li Chih-jen (then-Lieutenant Colonel Counter-Intelligence Officer of the Air Force Sungshan Command, deceased) was jointly liable as he participated in torture; thus, although no provisional attachment was executed against him, a lawsuit was filed against his heirs, limited to the inherited estate. Chao T'ai-sheng and Li Shu-ch'iang, who were originally listed for provisional attachment, were dropped from the claim because they did not participate in the torture and coercion of Chiang Kuo-ch'ing's confession. Among the remaining seven individuals, only Teng Chen-huan expressed deep remorse. Taking into consideration that he was merely a staff member at the time and did not play a dominant role, the MND agreed to a settlement of NT$2.8 million, which was paid in full on April 6. The MND concluded that, excluding Chao T'ai-sheng and Li Shu-ch'iang, the compensation of NT$103,185,000 should originally have been shared equally among the seven individuals, amounting to NT$14,740,714 per person. Because Teng Chen-huan reached a settlement with the MND for NT$2.8 million, the difference of NT$11,940,714 (14,740,714 - 2,800,000 = 11,940,714) will be borne by the national treasury.

We agree with the MND's provisional attachment and commend Teng Chen-huan for expressing deep remorse. However, we have doubts regarding several of the MND's related practices:

1. Among these nine individuals, the degree of involvement for each person should differ. Therefore, is the decision to "evenly split" the compensation appropriate?
2. Given that each individual's responsibility varies in magnitude, is the MND being too "generous" in entirely waiving restitution from Chao T'ai-sheng and Li Shu-ch'iang? Is this handled too hastily?
3. Furthermore, setting aside whether the MND directly extinguishing Teng Chen-huan's liability of NT$11 million is appropriate or proportional, since the nine individuals bear joint and several liability, why should the others be exempt from proportionally sharing it? Having over NT$11 million entirely "absorbed" by the national treasury—is this truly beyond criticism?
4. While we certainly do not advocate that Li Chih-jen's responsibility be borne by his children, the MND preemptively drew a firewall prior to clarifying Li's liability by declaring it limited to the estate inherited by his children, once again "being generous with the national treasury" invisibly!

Moreover, the MND previously conducted the provisional attachment almost with "drums beating and gongs clanging" (in legal practice, to prevent debtors from transferring assets, provisional attachment is invariably carried out swiftly and low-profile; such an execution method is exceptionally rare). Today, the Taipei District Court dragged its feet to hold the first hearing. Even if the court rules in favor of the MND, the remaining six individuals (or eight including Chao T'ai-sheng and Li Shu-ch'iang), refusing to admit fault, can still appeal to the second and third instances. It will likely take several years of litigation to reach a final verdict. All these signs indicate that the MND does not seem proactive in "collecting debts." If it fails to uphold the duty of care of a "good administrator" during the litigation to properly fight for the rights and interests of the country and its people, even the slightest misstep could result in a massive hemorrhage of the national treasury, forcing the public once again to foot the bill for the government's incompetence.

Many people who care about this case of the MND seeking damages from Ch'en Chao-min et al. do so precisely because they care: "Who" exactly should foot the bill for the compensation of Chiang Kuo-ch'ing's wrongful death? Is it the military personnel guilty of illegal acts and dereliction of duty, or all taxpayers?

If it is once again the general public, is that reasonable? Can you accept it? If you care deeply, you are welcome to join us in monitoring whether the MND exerts its utmost efforts during the court proceedings to guard our hard-earned money and protect the purses of all citizens!

Press Contacts

Attorney Lin Feng-cheng 02-2523-1178

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※ Regarding the Taipei District Prosecutors Office's recent decision not to prosecute Ch'en Chao-min, K'o Chung-ch'ing, and others for their criminal culpability in torturing and coercing Chiang Kuo-ch'ing's confession, the Taiwan Association for Innocence (Taiwan Judicial Reform Foundation) is following up on the September 6 action supporting Chiang's mother by launching the online petition campaign: "Indict Ch'en Chao-min! Demand Compensation." The goal is: by "Double Ten" National Day on October 10, to gather 10,100 petition signatures to express the public's "concern" over the torture and coerced confession of the "Son of the Nation" Chiang Kuo-ch'ing, which led to his wrongful execution!

We hope the judicial system can hear the public's voices of discontent. Through the procedures of indictment and trial, we aim to clarify and hold perpetrators accountable, confront historical truth, sincerely review past mistakes, learn our lessons, and return justice to Taiwanese society. Otherwise, the painful accusations and shackles once borne by Chiang Kuo-ch'ing before his death might constantly attach themselves to others. For details, please visit the petition webpage and the JRF website.