People Merely Want the Truth

People Merely Want the Truth
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China)
A Translation
July 29, 2013

Summary: The Hung Chung-chiu case is already four weeks old, but the truth has yet to emerge. It is rumored that the Ma administration has made Minister of Defense Kao Hua-chu's resignation its "stop-loss point." If so, its calculations are both cheap and facile. They also misjudge public opinion.

Full text below:

The Hung Chung-chiu case is already four weeks old, but the truth has yet to emerge. It is rumored that the Ma administration has made Minister of Defense Kao Hua-chu's resignation its "stop-loss point." If so, its calculations are both cheap and facile. They also misjudge public opinion.

Whether Kao Hua-chu remains or leaves is not the issue. His resignation will do nothing to resolve public doubts. It might even intensify public anger at government incompetence. When the case first broke, this newspaper proclaimed in no uncertain terms that "Without the truth, there can be no forgiveness." The public wants the whole story, They do not necessarily want a long list of high ranking government officials to be punished. The Hung family merely wants to know what happened to Hung Chung-chiu during his last days on earth. They want to know why he was tortured to death. It is not their intention to deliberately make trouble for the military. Therefore the government must uncover the truth. Merely forcing the Minister of Defense to step down wiil not help the government to stop its losses. That is the wrong direction. .

President Ma is deeply concerned about the Hung case. He has instructed the agencies in charge to look into "integrating of military justice and criminal proceedings" instead of
court martialing those who abuse their subordinates. The Ministry of Defense has proposed 13 military reform measures. These are undoubtedly essential long-term institutional reforms. But they ignore the burning issue at hand. They leave unanswered questions about the case hanging. They trumpet long-term reform while watching the direction the wind blows. How can people not conclude that the government is merely putting on an act?

The public merely wants the truth behind the Hung Chung-chiu case. The government's response however, was to offer assurances of long-term reform. The Hung family wants justice. It does not want the military telling stories. Yet the government insists it must wait until the law is amended and the system is reformed before it can act. Day after day, it declares that it is investigating. But if it fails to uncover more facts, how can it possibly stop the bleeding?

We have reiterated the need for the truth. Only the truth can determine ultimate responsibility and avoid implicating the innocent. Only the truth will enable the Ministry of Defense to address the problem and implement in-depth reforms. The Army report has been revised repeatedly. Compare it to the Hung family's own investigation, and revelations by other soldiers. Outsiders already see the extent to which the incident has been obscured. Some obscurity is the result of the military's failure to conduct a thorough investigation. Some of it is the result of the military's deliberately withholding of the facts from outsiders. The result is that key parts of the larger picture have been "pixelated," making them difficult to read. If the military wants to dispel doubts among outsiders, it must first remove the pixelated portions of the picture.

The Hung family and the general public most urgently want to know four things. These are the things to which the military must give the highest priority. One. The military must make public the record of the proceedings in order to instill public confidence. The "Non-Commissioned Officers Evaluation Commission" investigation and solitary confinement of Hung Chung-chiu was conducted by Fan Cho-hsien of the Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company. The lack of higher level "Personnel Evaluation Commission" review was the result of indolence or self-interest. This too must be accounted for. Two. The military must make public the 813 Hospital medical report, in toto, from beginning to end. It must review the contents for signs of fraud, including who purchased beverages. Three. Was the CCTV monitor blackout the result of mechanical failure, bad connections, or deliberate erasure? This must be explained to the public's satisfaction. The personnel in charge of monitoring the CCTV system should be called on to explain. The public cannot accept vague conclusions such as "Somehow something went wrong." Four. The military must explain what happened during the final hours, when Hung Chung-chiu was in solitary confinement, including the forced drills and emergency rescue process. If necessary, the responsible personnel should provide evidence.

Perhaps the investigation cannot be fully opened to the public. But Chief Military Prosecutor Tsao Ching-sheng held a joint press conference with DPP legislators. The case raged on for more than 20 days. If the government fails to offer a convincing explanation, how can it quiet public speculation? The fact is local prosecutors joining the investigation shattered the military's ability to tell fairy tales. This includes the autopsy report, which was changed from "accidental death" to "homicide." These show that third-party involvement is essential. But what Taoyuan prosecutors can do remains limited. They cannot uncover more facts. President Ma has personally promised the Hung family that he will get to the bottom of the case. But when it comes to act, Ma erects barriers in his own way. He appears unwilling to do what is necessary to resolve the case. This is truly regrettable.

The military must remove the "pixelation." It must respond candidly to questions raised by the public and by the Hung family. Only then can it allay public doubts and public anger. It must clarify certain key points. Only then can Hung Chung-chiu's family let go of their pain and resentment. Only then can the public conclude that Ministry of Defense "military reform" is more than empty lip service. The more the military conceals the truth, the more the public will be forced to take over the case. The harder the Ma administration will have to work to repair its image.

The victims of the Hung case are not confined to Hung Chung-chiu alone. They include innocent officers and enlisted men who have been implicated and punished unjustly. They include anxious soliders outside, who have been caught up in the "witch-hunt." They include the military as a whole, whose morale and image have suffered. If the government refuses to tell the truth, but admits only to what investigators uncover, then it is merely spouting hot air.

人們要的只是一個去馬賽克的真相
【聯合報╱社論】
2013.07.29 01:47 am

洪仲丘案已經四周，真相依然不白；最新進展之一，傳聞馬政府將以國防部長高華柱的下台作為「停損點」。若果真如此，這種盤算不僅過度廉價而老套，也錯估了民意。

高華柱的去留絕非本案的核心焦點，他去職，無助化解人們心頭的疑問，反而可能助長社會大眾對政府顢頇無能的憤怒。此案一開始，本報社論即說得很清楚：「沒有真相，沒有原諒」；人民期待知道的是此案的事實原委，而不是政府懲處名單多長、層級多高。對洪家人而言，他們渴盼的也只是還原洪仲丘生前最後數日的經過，何以被凌虐致死，而非意圖鬧到軍中不安不靜為止。也因此，不交代真相，卻以為國防部長下台即可「停損」，恐怕搞錯了方向。

馬總統對洪案高度關注，指示了相關部門針對「凌虐部屬移出軍法審判」及「軍法與刑事訴訟整合」提出檢討；國防部方面，也提出了十三項軍中興革措施。這些，都是長期必須修整的制度問題，殆無疑義。然而，放著火燒眉毛的具體問題不談，看著沒調查清楚的疑點在那裡懸空擺盪，卻顧左右而言他在那裡大唱長期改革的高調，如何不教人民覺得政府是在「莊孝維」？

簡單地說，人民要的是洪仲丘案的具體真相，政府回答的卻是要給你一個長期的改革保證；洪家要的是司法介入調查，不要任由軍檢在那裡自說自話，政府卻推說這得等修法改變體制才行。日復一日的宣示與調查，如果不能把更多真相帶給人民，這危機豈有止血的時刻？

我們之所以一再強調「要真相」，因為唯有真相大白，才能確定最終責任的公平處置，而不致使無辜官兵揹上「陪榜」、「連坐」之冤；也唯有真相大白，國防部才能對症下藥，深入改革弊端。目前軍方提出的報告，經過一修再修，再比對洪家自行調查及相關兵員的爆料，外界已大致可看出整起事件的模糊輪廓。而模糊的部分，有些是軍方未調查透徹，有些是故意對外隱去實情，因而在若干關鍵環節即形成了「馬賽克效應」，讓人們難以參透。軍方若要消釋外界疑慮，非得先將這幾個部位的「馬賽克」去除不可。

洪家和一般社會大眾最迫切想要知道的事實有四，這也是軍方應優先公開的部分：一、公布范佐憲主導旅部連「士評會」將洪仲丘移送禁閉的過程，並提示會議紀錄以昭公信；更高層級的「人評會」未召開審核會，是純屬疏怠或有人居中運作，也應作出說明；二、公布八一三醫院體檢報告過關的完整經手流程，並檢視內容有否造假，包括誰買了飲料；三、監視器黑畫面究竟是機器故障或線路不良，或有人趁隙下手刪除，須提出可昭公信的說明，甚至請管理監視器人員現身說明，民眾難以接受「陰錯陽差」這種含糊結論；四、說明洪仲丘在禁閉室最後幾小時的操練及搶救經過，必要時，邀相關人員說明佐證。

儘管偵辦中的案情無法悉數公開，但軍檢署檢察長曹金生曾配合民進黨立委召開記者會，此案延燒廿多日，政府若不公開有說服力的事實，如何杜悠悠眾口？事實上，在司法加入局部偵辦後，已打破了軍方「自說自話」的局面，包括驗屍報告由「意外」改為「他為」，都顯示第三方介入之必要；然而，桃檢所能過問的範圍仍極有限，無法探知更多真相。馬總統親口承諾洪家「管定了」洪案，行事卻自我拘礙，不知大破大立之道，令人遺憾。

為今之計，唯有軍方去除馬賽克，針對民眾和洪家關注的幾項疑點提出坦誠的說明，才有可能解除人們的疑惑與憤怒。我們也相信，唯有把關鍵事實交代清楚，洪仲丘家人才能放下心中的痛苦和怨恨，人民也才有可能相信國防部保證的「軍中改革」不是敷衍之詞。軍方越是隱瞞真相，只會越迫使人民自力辦案，馬政府受創的形象也就越難彌補。

必須提醒的是，洪案發展至此，受害者已不止洪仲丘一人，還包括那些無辜受到牽連記過的官兵，包括在外界「獵巫」氛圍下因遭到敵視或貶抑而焦慮不安的軍人，乃至整體國軍對外士氣和形象的挫折。政府若不攤開真相，卻反覆奢言「證據到哪就辦到哪」，都只是空口白話。