The Ministry of National Defense is thinking about providing overtime for the armed forces and military agencies that require around-the-clock shifts in an effort to increase enlistment incentives for volunteer soldiers and pave the way for the future implementation of an all-volunteer military service.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang (楊念祖) made the remark at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday when asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) whether the ministry was mulling such a scheme.
The meeting was held to review amendments to articles 16 and 16-1 of the Act of the Military Service System (兵役法) and some other amendments to the Act of Military Service for Volunteer Enlisted Soldiers (志願士兵服役條例). The proposed amendments are to lay the groundwork for the nation to transfer its compulsory military service system into an all-volunteer system.
Photo: CNA
The MND and the Ministry of the Interior had said the new voluntary system would be implemented on Jan. 1, after which male citizens born after 1994 will only need to complete four months of military training.
Under the new system, the deduction of training hours for regular servicemen and four-month draftees based on their participation in military training courses during secondary education is to be reduced to no more than 30 days for the former and 15 days for the latter.
Asked by opposition lawmakers in a question-and-answer session whether the implementation of the new military system might be postponed or scrapped due to the country’s dire financial situation, Yang said the Executive Yuan-initiated system was irreversible.
Turning to the ministry’s current voluntary service, which looks set to fall short of its annual enlistment goal this year, Tsai and DPP legislators Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) and Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) questioned if the underachievement was the result of the ministry’s lack of incentives.
“The ministry is scheduled to recruit 15,000 volunteer-enlisted soldiers this year, but as of last month, we only have 8,600 recruits,” Yang said, adding that the monthly wage for a volunteer recruit was about NT$34,000 (US$1,170), or a starting salary of NT$29,625 plus benefits.
“There is a huge difference between the starting salary of a volunteer private and what the ministry had pledged to pay them, which is double the minimum monthly wage [of NT$18,780],” Tsai said.
Yang said it would cost NT$5 billion a year if the starting salary is hiked to twice the minimum wage.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese