Taiwan Under Threat

(Taipei, Taiwan) With the ever-present threat of mainland China invading, it's paramount that the Taiwanese military be battle-ready. However, based on this report, there's room for improvement.

TAIWAN'S military has punished 17 servicemen over an obscene video involving two male sergeants while on duty, in a scandal that has sparked public outrage.

A cable news channel earlier this month aired a video showing two soldiers clad in camouflage uniforms apparently engaged in oral sex while around 40 other servicemen looked on and laughed.

"The defence ministry has disciplined 13 members of the reserve brigade and sent another four to prosecutors for involvement in public obscenity and spreading an obscene image," it said.

Those facing prosecution included the duo allegedly engaged in the act and another sergeant who taped the scene, as well as the captain of their squad, the ministry said.

The 13 were disciplined for "failing to prevent a major incident from happening to damage the military honour", it said.

I suggest that the existence of blatant cluster sex represents more of a problem than simply besmirching military honor.