Republic of China Military Police


The Republic of China Military Police, referred to informally as the Taiwanese Military Police is a military police force operating under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Defense of Republic of China. Unlike military police organisations in many other countries, the ROCMP functions as a distinct branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces.
The ROCMP is tasked with the protection of senior government leaders against assassination or capture, the guarding of Taiwan’s critical infrastructure and strategic facilities, and the conduct of counterintelligence operations aimed at identifying and neutralising enemy infiltrators, spies, and saboteurs.

History

Warlord Era

was the first commander of the military police, serving from November 6, 1931 to November 1940. Under Ku, the ROCMP imitated the Japanese system. Branches were opened across the country, and an intelligence branch was created.

Xi'an Incident

During the Xi'an Incident on December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang's troops attacked Huaqing Pool to kidnap Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang was defended by a bodyguard company from the ROCMP 1st Regiment. The kidnappers pursued Chiang and his bodyguards into the mountains and captured him. Only three bodyguards survived. ROCMP reinforcements were interdicted by Zhang's forces. Chiang recognized the ROCMP's loyalty in 1951 by making 12 December "Military Police Day".

Second Sino-Japanese War

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Military Police were often thrust into frontline combat roles for which they were neither specifically trained nor equipped. They fought fiercely during events such as the January 28 Incident of 1932 and the Battle of Nanking in 1937, suffering heavy casualties.
During the Battle of Nanking in December 1937, the 2nd Military Police Instruction Regiment fought bravely against Japanese forces and was almost entirely wiped out. Deputy Commander of the Military Police Command, Hsiao Shan-Ling, was killed in action. Japanese accounts later revealed that captured Chinese Nationalist Military Police personnel, identifiable by their white armbands, were frequently summarily executed—a practice similar to that of the Wehrmacht’s treatment of Soviet political commissars during the Second World War. Meanwhile, members of the 2nd Special Police Unit, operating behind enemy lines, were betrayed by collaborators, resulting in the deaths of Tu Ching-Po and over a dozen other military police members.
In addition to frontline duties, the Military Police played a major role in operations behind Japanese lines and expanded into intelligence and counterinsurgency roles. They were instrumental in suppressing communist influence within Nationalist territory, including the quelling of an attempted uprising during the New Fourth Army Incident of 1941.
The Military Police also performed vital security duties towards the end of the war, including escorting Japanese delegates during the formal arrangements for the Surrender of Japan in 1945. By the end of the war, the Military Police had grown to include 27 regiments, three independent battalions, and three training regiments.
From September 1945, the Republic of China dispatched Military Police to Japan as part of the Allied Occupation of Japan. On 14 May 1952, the ROC Military Police detachment stationed in Tokyo, led by Captain Li Chien-Wu, withdrew from Japan and returned to Taiwan aboard the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company's vessel MV Hai Lung.

Post-War Mainland Operations

After 1945, the Military Police played a key role in post-war internal security:
  • In 1946, the 9th and 16th Military Police Regiments were responsible for safeguarding the National Constituent Assembly in Nanjing.
  • In 1947, the 4th and 21st Regiments were deployed to Taiwan to suppress the February 28 Incident.
  • In the same year, tensions between military police and municipal police in Shanghai erupted into the July 27 Shanghai Police-Military Police Incident, resulting in bloodshed and a general strike within the city’s police force.
  • In 1948, the Military Police continued to provide security during the convening of the First National Assembly.
As the Chinese Civil War intensified, the Military Police maintained a primarily internal security role, guarding key government facilities and protecting senior political leaders. The 7th Company of the 1st Regiment notably participated in the Battle of Kuningtou in Kinmen in 1949, successfully resisting communist landings.

Taiwan Period

Following the Nationalist retreat to Taiwan in 1949, the ROCMP was reconstituted. On 1 March 1950, the Southeastern Command Post of the ROC Military Police was reorganised into the Military Police Headquarters, on Liangzhou Street, Taipei.
Officers and troops from the 1st, 3rd, and 18th Military Police Regiments evacuated from mainland China were integrated with the 4th and 8th Regiments already stationed in Taiwan. This reorganisation led to the establishment of new units, including the 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Regiments, as well as a cadre training class, special services battalion, communications unit, military band, and a high-security intelligence group.
During the early 1950s, ROCMP forces were also involved in overseas operations. In 1954, a detachment was deployed to Korea to retrieve and repatriate over 14,000 Chinese anti-communist exiles following the Korean War, an operation commemorated as "123 Freedom Day".
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Military Police Command expanded. In 1955, it played a central role in the controversial arrest and detention of over 300 former subordinates of General Sun Li-jen during the "Sun Li-jen Incident", part of the wider White Terror political purges.
In 1970, under the advice of the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group, a major reorganisation took place. Regimental structures were converted into regional commands:
  • 201st Regional Command: Presidential Guard, derived from the 101st MP Regiment.
  • 202nd Regional Command: Capital garrison, from the former 201st MP Regiment.
  • 203rd Regional Command: Based in Miaoli County.
  • 204th Regional Command: Based in Tainan City.
The Military Police School was relocated to Wugu Township in 1975. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, through various Ching An projects, the ROCMP expanded further by absorbing special forces and former security battalions, leading to the creation of additional regiments and specialist units, including the Military Police Special Service Company established in 1977.
The 1980s and 1990s saw ongoing modernisation and rationalisation, including:
  • Establishment of the Armoured Military Police Battalion.
  • Transfer of coastal and port security duties to the Coast Guard, with several MP battalions reassigned accordingly.
  • Full absorption of Air Force security battalions into ROCMP command.
In 2013, following restructuring within the Ministry of National Defence, the Military Police Command was renamed the Ministry of National Defence General Staff Headquarters - Military Police Command. Area commands such as the 203rd–205th saw command ranks adjusted. And from 2021, the Command post became renamed as the Ministry of National Defence - Military Police Command ), with its commander maintaining lieutenant general rank.
The ROCMP also underwent further streamlining:
  • In 2014, the Military Police School was renamed the Military Police Training Centre.
  • In 2016, the "White Terror" concerns were reignited following an illegal search operation in Taipei conducted by the 202nd Command under the Political Warfare Bureau’s directives, leading to widespread public outrage and subsequent disciplinary action against senior officers.
  • In 2021, with reforms under the National Defence Act amendments, the ROCMP was directly subordinated to the Ministry of National Defence.
Most recently, in 2024, new battalions were established to reinforce the defence of Taipei, each battalion comprising five companies and approximately 673 personnel per unit, significantly bolstering the capital’s wartime and peacetime security posture.

Functions

Functions

According to the 2006 National Defense Report, the Republic of China Military Police is tasked with the following responsibilities:
  1. Military Functions
  2. #Conducting special security duties, including presidential protection.
  3. #Undertaking counter-terrorism operations.
  4. #Providing garrison security.
  5. #Enforcing military discipline.
  6. #Supporting broader military operations.
  7. Supportive Functions in Civilian Affairs
  8. #Executing military justice and law enforcement missions.
  9. #Maintaining public security.
  10. #Providing effective support for regional disaster prevention and response efforts.
  11. #Contributing to the maintenance of social stability and national security.

    Military

The Republic of China Military Police is responsible for enforcing military law, maintaining military discipline, and providing manpower support to the civilian police force. In times of emergency, ROCMP units are tasked with performing combat duties. They are also responsible for securing key government facilities, including the Presidential Office Building, and for conducting counter-terrorism operations and VIP protection missions. Furthermore, the ROCMP plays a crucial role in the defence of Taipei, the capital city and political and financial centre of the Republic of China.

Intelligence

Due to historical and traditional factors, the Republic of China Military Police continues to undertake intelligence missions across six categories of security investigations:
  • Special services related to presidential security and protection
  • Political investigations
  • Military investigations
  • Criminal investigations
  • Foreign affairs
  • Social order
These investigations are primarily conducted by regional investigation groups, the Mobile Investigation Group, and their superior body, the Intelligence Division of the Military Police Command. Although covering a broad range of areas, the primary focus remains on special services for presidential security and protection, with the practical objective of meeting the requirements of the Commander-in-Chief, the President of the Republic of China.
In carrying out its intelligence activities, the ROCMP operates under the supervision and coordination of the National Security Bureau within the National Security Council.