Key developments since May 2005: In June 2006, Taiwan enacted legislation that bans production and trade of antipersonnel mines, but not stockpiling and use, and requires clearance of mined areas within seven years. In September 2005, the President, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Vice President of the Legislative Yuan all signed statements committing to a ban on antipersonnel mines and demining. A contract awarded to MineTech International to clear mines on Kinmen Island was suspended after an explosion in April 2005 in which two deminers were killed and a third injured. A legislator said the Ministry of National Defense cancelled funding for demining in 2006 after the government proposed a major purchase of arms. Officials said demining would resume in 2007 and that the Ministry had proposed a NTD4.2 billion (US$131 million) budget to clear all remaining minefields after 2009.
Although Taiwan cannot accede to the Mine Ban Treaty due to its international status, high-ranking government officials have on many occasions since 1999 expressed Taiwan’s support for a comprehensive ban on antipersonnel mines.[1] On 8 September 2005, President Chen Shui-bian signed a statement provided by the disability NGO Eden Social Welfare Foundation pledging the government’s support for the global anti-landmine campaign. In the statement, the President committed to push for appropriate legislation banning the use, production, trade and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines, to instruct government agencies to clear existing minefields, and to instruct government agencies to educate the public about the danger of the landmines on the offshore island of Kinmen.[2] Similar statements were signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen and Vice President of the Legislative Yuan (the national legislature) Chung Yung-Chi.[3]
In May 2002, a draft bill entitled Antipersonnel Landmines Regulation Act was introduced by individual legislators to the Legislative Yuan. Under the draft legislation, any use, production, transfer or stockpiling of antipersonnel mines without authorization would be punishable by imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of up to NTD500,000 (about US$15,000). Anyone who assists, encourages or induces others to engage in violations would be subject to the same penalty. In addition, the bill stated that all stockpiled antipersonnel mines must be destroyed within four years, with the exception of those intended for training and research in mine clearance. All antipersonnel mines deployed in minefields must be located and eradicated completely within 10 years.
On 21 December 2004, the bill was deliberated for the first time in the Committee of National Defense of the Legislative Yuan.[4] After the Ministry of National Defense expressed reservations about the legislation, the Committee decided to engage in a negotiation among caucuses.[5] However, the negotiation that took place on 7 January 2005 did not reach a satisfactory consensus, and deliberations continued. With the end of the legislative session in February 2005, according to the law, the bill had to be dropped.
In August 2005, ICBL members in Taiwan started a new campaign for the mine ban legislation. The same bill was introduced again to the Legislative Yuan in October 2005 with the endorsement of 73 legislators across party lines.[6] At the same time, a legislator from Kinmen Island drafted a similar bill, seeking to destroy all stockpiled antipersonnel mines in five years, to clear minefields in five years with a possible extension up to three years, and to compensate landmine victims (or their family members).
These two new draft bills were considered by the Committee of National Defense on 19 December 2005. During the session, the Ministry of National Defense proposed to drop the requirement for destruction of all antipersonnel landmines, the penal sanctions and the compensation program, and to “plan stages of mine clearance according to the changes in the cross-Strait relations,” instead of a definite deadline to complete demining.[7]
Cross-caucus negotiations on the bill took place on 20 March 2006, and a preliminary consensus was reached. The agreement bans the production of and trade in antipersonnel mines, but does not require destruction of existing stockpiles and grants the Ministry of Defense the right to use antipersonnel mines “when it is imperative during war.” It includes penal sanctions of a minimum of seven years imprisonment and minimum fine of NTD500,000 (about $15,000). It calls for removal of antipersonnel mines from minefields within seven years, with a possible extension of three years. It includes compensation for mine survivors.[8]
The Legislative Yuan passed the bill on 26 May 2006 and it was promulgated on 14 June 2006 by Presidential Order 09500087081.[9]
Li Hsi-sheng, honorary president of the Kinmen Welfare Promotion Association for the Disabled said, “It’s unacceptable that [legislators] agreed on the conditional use of landmines rather than supported our appeal for a comprehensive cleanup of the landmines.” Robert Lin, vice chief executive officer of the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, criticized the agreement as inadequate, noting that it “does not meet the [Mine Ban Treaty’s] demands.”[10]
Taiwan claims to have stopped production of antipersonnel mines in 1982, and it is not known to have ever exported them. During the legislative deliberations on the mine ban bills in December 2005, an official of the Ministry of National Defense affirmed that the military was neither producing nor importing antipersonnel mines.[11]
In a press release dated 22 December 2005, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of National Defense, Huo Shou-yeh, stated that the military stood firmly against the production, purchase, selling or transfer of antipersonnel landmines. He also declared that the military would not plant new minefields and was committed to demining the offshore islands. Nevertheless, he stated, “When dealing with humanitarian issues, the defensive value of landmines should not be overlooked.” According to the Vice Minister, maintaining certain “strategic minefields” along the coastlines of offshore islands could reduce the need for a military presence on the islands and prevent smuggling and stowaways.[12] In March 2004, the Ministry of National Defense acknowledged that some of the minefields on the offshore islands were maintained due to the military threat from China, but said they would be gradually reduced when alternative weapons are available. [13]
The Ministry of National Defense has refused to provide details of the size of its remaining stockpile of antipersonnel mines.[14]
Taiwan laid landmines on its two largest offshore islands, Kinmen and Matsu (Lian Jiang County) and other smaller uninhabited islands in the 1950s because of their proximity to the Chinese mainland and vulnerability to attack. The Ministry of National Defense stated in March 2004 that some of the minefields on the islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Dong Yin were maintained due to the military threat from China, but would be gradually reduced when alternative weapons became available.[15]
A Ministry of National Defense official told Landmine Monitor that there are more than 200 minefields on the offshore islands,[16] but declined to confirm the report of a legislator cited in a local newspaper in 2006, that they covered more than 2.86 square kilometers.[17] In December 2005, a National Defense Ministry official stated that there were approximately 100,000 landmines laid on the offshore islands, most of them antipersonnel mines. The official said there was no precise information on the size and composition of the mined areas because the landmines laid there had drifted or become dysfunctional with age.[18]
The government maintains that all mine-affected areas are marked, fenced and inspected weekly.[19] However, Kinmen Island residents have complained that mines obstructed local economic development and compromised their own safety. A legislator complained in August 2005 that stockpiles of removed landmines on Kinmen island were neither clearly fenced nor under proper surveillance and therefore threatened the safety of residents.[20] A local official on Kinmen Island was quoted in media reports in 2006 as saying that an explosion of landmines in April 2005 caused damage to 160 nearby houses. He added that some 800 mines had been left unattended in four temporary storage facilities.[21] Other reports have indicated that, when mines are removed from the ground, most are stockpiled in open areas, sometimes protected only with sandbags, without any guards.[22]
A National Defense Ministry official responded that in 2004, the land had been transferred to and became the responsibility of the Kinmen Water Company, and that the mines were stored in an area that the Defense Ministry had previously marked and fenced.[23]
Taiwan has no formal demining program. However, a law passed on 26 May imposed a seven-year deadline for the removal of all mines from the islands of Kinmen and Matsu and required the Ministry of National Defense to report progress annually to the Legislative Yuan. If mines on the island could not be cleared by the deadline, the law required the Ministry of National Defense to apply to the Legislative Yuan for an extension.[24]
Starting in the mid-1990s, the Ministry of National Defense has contracted foreign commercial demining companies to undertake surveys and clearance, mainly in response to local development needs on Kinmen. Specialist Gurkha Services UK conducted a survey on Kinmen Island in 1996, and in 1999, cleared two areas identified as priorities.[25]
Between 1998 and April 2001, the Ministry of National Defense allocated NTD85.13 million ($2.65 million) to clear six minefields on Kinmen and 11 on Matsu.[26] However, a legislator from Matsu stated in December 2005 that no organized demining had yet taken place on the island.[27] On Kinmen Island, the Ministry of National Defense handed over to the Kinmen Water Company 3,700 square meters of mined land required for the construction of a dam.[28] Jih-Hsin Construction Company, hired to build the dam, awarded MineTech International a contract in 2004 to clear land needed for the dam.[29] MineTech started work in November, but suspended clearance in April 2005 after an incident, in which deminers were killed and injured and many houses in the vicinity were reportedly damaged.[30] No mine clearance activity has been reported since then. In March 2006, Kinmen Water Company hired a new demining company, Explomo Technical Service Pte. Ltd.; as of June 2006, demining operations had not resumed.[31]
The Ministry of National Defense also allocated NTD400 million ($12.45 million) to private demining companies to clear 12 minefields on Kinmen Island and three minefields on Matzu Island between 2006 and 2008.[32] A legislator said the budget for these operations was cancelled after the government decided to proceed with a major purchase of arms.[33] However, the Ministry of National Defense said NTD500 million ($15.56 million) had been allocated to clear 15 minefields on Kinmen and Matsu covering a total of approximately 330,000 square meters of land in 2007 to 2009, and that the ministry had proposed a budget of NTD4.2 billion ($131 million) to clear all remaining minefields after 2009.[34]
Deminer safety: The mine explosion during MineTech’s clearance operations on Kinmen in April 2005 killed two Zimbabwean deminers and injured a third deminer. A former manager of Jih-Hsin Construction Company, which had contracted MineTech, said the deminers had put six landmines into a sack and carried them by hand to a storage point a 30 minute walk away where the mines exploded, detonating 150 to 200 M6A2 and M6A1 landmines in the storage point.[35] A dispute between Jih-Hsin and MineTech over insurance payments arising from the incident remained unresolved in April 2006.[36]
Under a law passed by the Legislative Yuan in May 2006, military personnel or civilians injured as a result of “negligence in mine removal operations” are entitled to government compensation.[37]
In 2005, Taiwan donated $100,000 to the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD).[38] In 2004, Taiwan contributed the equivalent of CHF384,510 ($338,150) to FSD, consisting of CHF371,843 ($327,010) to Sudan and CHF12,667 ($11,140) to Albania.[39]
Since 1996, Eden Social Welfare Foundation has continued a Love Without Borders project to raise funds for donating wheelchairs to mine victims and people with disabilities, and for other awareness-raising activities. In September and November 2005, it organized two charity banquets. The project raised NTD9,022,040 ($280,789) in 2005; as of December, Eden had donated 9,147 wheelchairs to 16 mine-affected countries including Bolivia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.[40]
No landmine casualties in addition to the three Zimbabwean deminers noted above were reported in 2005. No further casualties were reported as of 1 May 2006.
In 2005, the Ministry of the National Defense Committee of Compensation for Civilian Damages continued to pay compensation to mine survivors, and granted 78 compensations for civilian damage caused by military activities, totaling NTD78.9 million ($2,455,573).[41] No additional claims for mine victim compensation were filed with the Ministry of National Defense during 2005. From November 1999 to April 2006, the ministry has paid compensation totaling NTD136,450,000 ($4,246,678) to 114 landmine survivors.[42] According to the Regulations of Compensation for Damages to the Public from Military Activities, all civilians injured or killed by military activities from 1949 to 30 June 1981 and who have not been otherwise compensated by the government can file for compensation payments ranging from NTD50,000 to 1,500,000 ($1,566-4,684); financial and material damage can be compensated up to NTD3 million ($93,368). If the victim is deceased, the family of the victim is entitled to receive the compensation. The residents of Kinmen and Matzu were eligible to claim compensation for damage caused by military activities occurring from 1949 to 7 November 1992. The 2004 amendment of the law extended the right to file for six more years, making the Regulations valid until November 2007.[43] According to the government of Kinmen County, by June 2005 there had been 1,230 applications for compensation and 399 had been granted, totaling NTD327,640,000 ($10,197,006).[44] In 2005, legislators discussed including an article in a mine-ban bill for compensation to antipersonnel mine victims and as of 1 May 2006, the legislation was still pending.
Taiwan has laws that protect people with disabilities,[45] and at least 10 NGOs work with the disabled.[46]
[1] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 857; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 593; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 556.
[2] “Our Appeal to The President,” signed by President Chen on 8 September 2005, prepared by the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, ICBL representative in Taiwan.
[3] “To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—Our Request to Support the Global Anti-Landmine Campaign,” signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen on 8 September 2005; “To the Legislative Yuan—Our Request to Support the Global Anti-Landmine Campaign,” signed by the Vice President of the Legislative Yuan on 9 September 2005. Both documents were prepared by the Eden Social Welfare Foundation.
[4] Although the bill was introduced in May 2002, it did not get much attention in the national legislature until a public hearing was held by ICBL members in Taiwan in September 2004.
[5] “Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the Committee of National Defense at the Second Session of the Sixth Legislative Yuan, December 19, 2005,” Bulletin of Legislative Yuan, Vol. 95, No.1, 6 January 2006, p. 299.
[6] This was a significant increase in the number of legislators endorsing the bill, compared to 40 in 2002.
[7] Ministry of National Defense, “Suggested Amendments on Antipersonnel Mines Regulations Acts and Explanations According to the Ministry of National Defense,” 19 December 2005. See also, Rich Chang, “Lawmakers propose ban on anti-personnel mines,” Taipei Times, 20 December 2005.
[8] Fax from the Parliamentary Office of Legislator Lee Wen-Chung, “The conclusion of cross-caucus negotiation for Antipersonnel Landmines Regulation Act,” 21 March 2006; Shih Hsiu-chuan, “Residents disappointed over landmines act,” Taipei Times, 3 April 2006.
[9] Email from Serena Chang, Eden Social Welfare Foundation, 29 June 2006; “Landmines in Kinmen, Matsu to be removed in seven years,” Central News Agency (Taipei), 26 May 2006.
[10] Shih Hsiu-chuan, “Residents disappointed over landmines act,” Taipei Times, 3 April 2006.
[11] “Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the Committee of National Defense...,” Bulletin of Legislative Yuan, Vol. 95, No.1, 6 January 2006, p. 283.
[12] Ministry of National Defense, “The ROC Military Stands Firmly against the Production of Landmines,” Press Release, 22 December 2005.
[13] Letter from Gen. Kwan-Dan Lai, Ministry of National Defense, 2 March 2004.
[14] “Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the Committee of National Defense...,” Bulletin of Legislative Yuan, Vol. 95, No.1, 6 January 2006, p. 292.
[15] Letter from Gen. Kwan-Dan Lai, Ministry of National Defense, 2 March 2004; see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1328.
[16] Fax from Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Military Combat and Planning Staff Office, Ministry of National Defense, 25 April 2006.
[17] Shih Hsiu-chuan, “Residents disappointed over landmines act,” Taipei Times, 3 April 2006, carried by Taiwan Headlines, english.www.gov.tw/TaiwanHeadlines, 4 April 2006.
[18] “Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the Committee of National Defense...,” Bulletin of Legislative Yuan, Vol. 95, No. 1, 6 January 2006, p. 282.
[19] Telephone interview with Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Ministry of National Defense, Taipei, 1 June 2005.
[20] Press Release of Legislator Wei-Che Huang, 9 August 2005.
[21] Shih Hsiu-chuan, “Residents disappointed over landmines act,” Taipei Times, 3 April 2006. A press release by Kinmen County Government on 10 August 2005 said 110 houses were damaged by the explosion.
[22] “Lawmaker urges government to deal with landmine problem,” China Post, 10 August 2005; Ko Shi-ling, “Kinmen landmines draw concern,” Taipei Times, 10 August 2005. The latter report cites an official as stating that over 870 mines had been cleared, and that while some were detonated right away, others were taken to a storage facility to be destroyed later.
[23] Telephone interview with Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Ministry of National Defense, Taipei, 26 April 2006.
[24] “Landmines in Kinmen, Matsu to be removed in seven years,” China News Agency, 26 May 2006.
[25] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1238.
[26] Official Letter from Gen. Kwan-Dan Lai, Ministry of National Defense, 2 March 2004. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = NTD32.131, US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[27] “Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the Committee of National Defense...,” Bulletin of Legislative Yuan, Vol. 95, No. 1, 6 January 2006, p. 295.
[28] Telephone interview with Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Ministry of National Defense, Taipei, 26 April 2006.
[29] Telephone interview with Jason Chang, former Business Manager of Jih-Hsin Construction Company, Kinmen, 25 April 2006; Ni Kuo-Yan, “Prosecutor investigates the contracted construction company after the mine blast,” The Epoch Times, 26 April 2005.
[30] Ni Kuo-Yan, “Foreign Demining Technicians on Kinmen Island,” CNA News Show, 1 September 2005, p. 37; telephone interview with Jason Chang, Kinmen, 25 April 2006.
[31] Telephone interview with Lu Jing-Long, Technician, Kinmen Water Company, 22 June 2006; telephone interview with Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Ministry of National Defense, Taipei, 26 April 2006; telephone interview with Weng Tzu-Pao, President, Kinmen Water Company, 2 May 2006.
[32] Telephone interview with Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Ministry of National Defense, Taipei, 1 June 2005.
[33] “Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the Committee of National Defense...,” Bulletin of Legislative Yuan, Vol. 95, No.1, 6 January 2006, p. 282.
[34] Fax from Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Ministry of National Defense, 25 April 2006.
[35] Telephone interviews with Jason Chang, Kinmen, 25 and 27 April 2006.
[36] Telephone interview with Jason Chang, Kinmen, 25 April 2005.
[37] “Landmines in Kinmen, Matsu to be removed in seven years,” China News Agency, 26 May 2006.
[38] Chi-Hsian Lu, “National Day Celebration: Bureau de Geneve Donated to FSD,” The Epoch Times, 7 October 2005; FSD, “Annual Report 2005.” The contribution was recorded by FSD as CHF128,140 ($99,279). FSD exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = CHF1.2907, FSD, “Annual Report 2005.”
[39] Swiss Foundation for Mine Action, “Financial Statements: Enclosure to the 2004 Annual Report,” p. 8. FSD exchange rate for 2004: US$1 = CHF1.1371, FSD, “Annual Report 2004,” p. 10. This 2004 contribution by Taiwan was not previously reported by Landmine Monitor.
[40] Data provided by Division of Resource Development, Eden Social Welfare Foundation, Taipei, 26 April 2006.
[41] Telephone interview with Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Ministry of National Defense, Taipei, 27 April 2006.
[42] Fax from Lt. Col. Wu Yi-Ming, Ministry of Defense, 25 April 2006.
[43] Presidential Order No. 24730, “Regulations of Compensation for Damages to the Public from Military Activities,” Presidential Order No. 093000104, amending articles 11 and 14 of “Regulations of Compensation for Damages to the Public from Military Activities,” and informational booklet by Ministry of National Defense, “Suggestions and Explanation of ‘Antipersonnel Landmines Regulation Act’.”
[44] “Compensation for Mine Victims,” CNA News Show, 1 September 2005, p. 33.
[45] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2005: Taiwan,” Washington DC, 8 March 2006.
[46] Mobility International USA, www.miusa.org, accessed