Is serving in the army an honor? In the past the answer may have been "yes" but now most men think otherwise.
In Taiwan, many men do everything they can to escape the 22 months of compulsory military service. Medical students are said to be the most notable draft dodgers since their training makes it easier for them to evade service than other people; with their professional medical knowledge they can identify the physical ailments that meet the official criteria for exemption from the obligatory service.
This long-standing problem recently caught the media's attention again when it was rumored that physician Chao Chien-min (趙建銘), President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) future son-in-law, had allegedly dodged military service by using fraudulent documents. In a special press conference this week, the Ministry of National Defense denied the rumor. Chao is said to suffer from gout.
Still, a high proportion of those exempt from military service are medical students. A recent report released by the government's watchdog, the Control Yuan, showed that between 1995 and 1999, of the 3 percent (6,822 individuals) of all males who were judged to be physically unfit for military service, nearly 31 percent were medical students -- or 1,226 individuals.
Common reasons for exemption from military service, according to the report, include being overweight or underweight, having substandard eyesight, suffering from respiratory diseases such as asthma, cardiac diseases, or metabolic disorders like gout.
Nothing improper
"I don't think [medical students] are trying to simulate or fake physical afflictions to evade the country's mandatory military service. The reason for [the higher percentage of medical students being exempted from the service] is probably our understanding of the human body," said Lien Chia-en (連加恩), a medical student at National Yang Ming University.
This means that many men drafted for military service may actually have a medical condition that would exempt them from service but they are unaware of it.
Currently serving as an internist for the last year of his medical studies, Lien told the Taipei Times that there are over 200 medical conditions that exempt individuals from military service.
"Reading the list is like studying an entire medicine textbook. There is a popular saying on campus, `Only lazy students go to serve in the army,'" Lien said jokingly, adding that if one tries hard enough, it is not too difficult to find some sort of physical indisposition to skip military service.
In most cases, in order to be exempted from military service, medical students make use of physical ailments which are more difficult for the layman to identify because of his lack of medical knowledge, Lien said.
"Thalassemia, a kind of genetic anemia, is a good example. An individual may suffer from thalassemia without knowing it, because there are frequently no obvious symptoms," he explained. "And there is spontaneous pneumothorax, a lung disease which does not bother patients if no severe symptoms occur. But people with either of the two illnesses will not be able to endure rigorous army training if symptoms break out."
Another medical student, who requested anonymity, agreed.
"It's just like accountants knowing better how to save on taxes, or lawyers knowing how to win legal suits given their understanding of the law. I don't see why medical students should be accused for making good use of their professional knowledge to be excused from army service, as long as lawful procedures are followed," he said.
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