Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) has announced a measure to allow non-commissioned officers to report to the minister in person, along with plans to improve the salaries and welfare of non-commissioned officers, as well as offer them higher recognition.
When visiting military bases, the minister is to hear reports from the base commander, as well as the chief petty officer, a move expected to improve the morale of non-commissioned officers.
There are about 73,000 non-commissioned officers in the nation’s armed forces consisting of 215,000 personnel, according to the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) annual budget plan.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
Though accounting for a majority of the military population, non-commissioned officers are a less privileged group in the armed forces, but steps are being taken to improve their status and benefits.
Feng, in a visit to an air force base in Chiayi County last month, held talks with low-level officers to understand their needs, sources in the military said.
In footage published by the ministry, Feng made an announcement during the visit, saying it was his priority to improve the welfare and organizational structure of non-commissioned officers and would elevate their status in the military.
While an improvement plan has yet to be finalized, Feng, in an attempt to place non-commissioned officers and higher-ranking officers on equal footing, has ordered the armed forces to send a chief petty officer to accompany the base commander when receiving ministry officials, and both the commander and chief petty officer are to make reports, the source said.
Conventionally, seats are arranged according to the ranks of officers when meeting with ministry visiting officials, with generals always occupying the front row seats.
However, Feng’s tradition-breaking announcement allows chief petty officers to occupy front row seats, providing a strong motivation for 73,000 non-commissioned officers pursuing a military career, the source said.
A Military Police Command source said that Feng’s measure has been effective, as Feng was welcomed by Military Police Commander Lieutenant General Hsu Chang (許昌) and Chief Petty Officer Liu Pi-li (劉畢莉) during a visit to the command’s headquarters.
Liu was seated next to Hsu, a more prominent place than Military Police Deputy Commander Major General Chou Kuang-chi (周廣齊) and the command’s Political Warfare Office Director Major General Hsieh Ming-te (謝明德) were seated, suggesting an improved status for non-commissioned officers.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
Taiwanese singer Jay Chou (周杰倫) plans to take to the courts of the Australian Open for the first time as a competitor in the high-stakes 1 Point Slam. The Australian Open yesterday afternoon announced the news on its official Instagram account, welcoming Chou — who celebrates his 47th birthday on Sunday — to the star-studded lineup of the tournament’s signature warm-up event. “From being the King of Mandarin Pop filling stadiums with his music to being Kato from The Green Hornet and now shifting focus to being a dedicated tennis player — welcome @jaychou to the 1 Point Slam and #AusOpen,” the
RSS