Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has initiated a plan to reinstate military courts, a move aimed at countering Chinese infiltration of the island’s armed forces but one that remains highly controversial in a society that experienced nearly four decades of martial law.
On Thursday, Lai announced that his government would pursue legal amendments to grant military judges the authority to handle cases involving active armed forces personnel accused of crimes such as rebellion, aiding the enemy, leaking state secrets, and disobeying orders.
This initiative, spearheaded by Lai’s National Security Council and the Ministry of National Defense, is part of a broader set of measures introduced by the president to strengthen Taiwan’s resilience against what he described as an escalating threat from China.
However, the proposal to reinstate military trials is unlikely to pass in parliament, where the opposition holds a majority and has consistently obstructed Lai’s administration since he took office in May last year.
Despite the low chances of legislative approval, the initiative is expected to ignite heated public debate and further deepen Taiwan’s already sharp political divisions. Since the president’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its legislative majority in the January 2024 elections, partisan gridlock has contributed to political dysfunction on the island.
“We have no choice but to take more proactive steps. It is time for us to take preventive measures, strengthen our democratic resilience and national security, and protect the freedom, democracy and way of life we cherish,” Lai stated.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has repeatedly threatened to annex it by force if Taipei refuses indefinite submission to Beijing’s rule. In recent years, China has intensified its military activities around Taiwan, launched aggressive propaganda campaigns, and attempted to infiltrate various sectors of Taiwanese society.
On Wednesday, Taiwanese immigration authorities announced the planned expulsion of a Chinese national residing in Taiwan for publicly advocating the island’s annexation by Beijing on social media.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-Te
Taiwan’s intelligence agency reported that 64 individuals were prosecuted last year in connection with espionage activities for China—a figure three times higher than that of three years ago. Additionally, 23 percent of those indicted were active military personnel.
Military jurisdiction in Taiwan was abolished in 2013 after widespread public outrage over a slow and opaque military investigation into a hazing incident that resulted in the death of a conscript. This reform was part of Taiwan’s broader efforts to dismantle the remnants of authoritarian rule.
The Kuomintang (KMT), the party that once governed China, imposed martial law for 38 years to maintain its control over Taiwan after retreating to the island following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
“The idea behind Lai’s initiative is likely to make the existing, rather toothless, national security legislation more effective,” said Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Taiwan University. “But Taiwan is incredibly partisan right now, and it will inevitably fuel that tendency,” he added.
“On paper, the proposal is going to look like heavy-handed government measures, and that will be exploited by the people who use ‘Green Terror’ as their talking point,” Nachman said.
The DPP’s party color is green, while political repression under the KMT was historically referred to as the “White Terror.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense clarified that the proposed amendments to the criminal code of the armed forces would not reinstate broad military jurisdiction as seen during the authoritarian era. Instead, only military-specific criminal offenses would be subject to military court rulings.
Since 2013, Taiwan has only permitted military courts in wartime, aligning with legal frameworks in European countries such as Germany and France. However, other nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom, maintain military courts even in peacetime.
Despite the abolishment of peacetime military trials, Taiwan’s military has continued training officers as prosecutors and judges.
However, Lieutenant General Shen Shih-wei, head of the Ministry of National Defense’s legal department, criticized this arrangement, stating, “Their lack of practice means that we would struggle to properly operate military courts if we had to in wartime, and that would raise more risks for democracy and civil rights.”
