The military will remain politically neutral as the nation heads toward year-end legislative, mayoral and county commissioner elections, officials from the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
In addition, the ministry said yesterday it would severely punish service personnel who violate the principle of political neutrality in accordance with the law.
Military personnel who arefound breaking statutes on political neutrality can be given up to five years in prison.
The ministry's vow yesterday follows the approval last week of regulations governing political neutrality among service personnel during elections.
The rules were approved by Chief of the General Staff General Tang Yao-ming (
The regulations represent the first time the military has produced rules barring military personnel from political activities.
In the past, KMT-controlled governments used the military to solicit support for their candidates.
However, no formal investigation into the extent of such actions or their impact on elections has ever been conducted.
Despite the ministry's assurance yesterday, doubts still linger about whether military personnel will remain silent about the candidates they hope to see elected in December.
Major General Huang Shui-sheng (黃穗生), a spokesman for the ministry, said the military's disciplinary units would closely monitor the enforcement of the new neutrality rules across all branches of the service.
"The public might suspect that some of us will lend a helping hand to the KMT in the year-end elections, since they have the impression that most career officers have or have had KMT membership," Huang said.
"But let me tell you one fact. A lot of career officers who used to have KMT affiliations did not re-register as KMT members following the transfer of power last year."
Shortly after the inauguration of the DPP-led government, the military began the process of drafting regulations to ensure that personnel refrain from political activities.
The regulations were modelled on similar rules in effect in the US, Germany and Japan, said Major General Chen Ke-nan (陳克難), a section chief with the general political warfare department at the ministry.
"With the regulations, we can assure the public that the military will not get involved in elections as it is suspected to have done in the past," Chen said.
"It is to be made clear that the military will focus its resources on combat training in the future," he said.
Under the new regulations, military personnel are not allowed to campaign for any candidate running in the year-end elections, Chen said.
"Servicemen should avoid at the same time participating in any sort of political activities related to the elections," Chen said.
"No candidates of any party or group are to be allowed to enter military camps to engage in election-related activities."
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned