Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-01-03

The system of joint punishment in Taiwan’s armed forces may be abolished. That was the takeaway from remarks by the defense minister, Feng Shih-kuan, on Tuesday.

Defense spokesperson Chen Chung-ji said the ministry is looking at doing away with the system of punishing a group for the infraction of an individual. He said the intent was to encourage service personnel to take individual responsibility for performing their role. He said personnel should not have their hands tied by fear of collective punishment.

The idea of abolishing joint punishment had previously been raised in a Democratic Progressive Party defense white paper before the current administration took office.
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