Conscription a bad idea
According to media reports, US officials last month suggested that the government in Taiwan reconsider returning to the military conscription system, as opposed to the volunteer recruitment system, as Taiwan needs to be self-reliant in terms of its national security.
However, this would be a short-term fix that fails to get to the root of the problem.
First of all, the low birth rate in Taiwan presents a serious problem.
In 2000, 305,000 babies were born, a figure that fell to 196,000 in 2011. Even if we were to return to conscription, the pool of new conscripts would shrink with each passing year.
In addition, compared with other countries, Taiwan’s GDP is only one-fifth that of the UK, and one-13th of Japan’s, and Taiwan’s population is but 40 percent of the UK’s and 20 percent of Japan’s. Despite this, our military personnel number is as high as 215,000 people, approximately equal to those of the UK and Japan.
What this essentially means is that we are spending the majority of our military budget on personnel costs and, this being the case, how can we have sufficient budget left to pay for military arms procurement or for new equipment?
Taiwan is unlike Israel. It is an island nation. The government has long abandoned any notion of “retaking the mainland.”
It is very unlikely we will make the first move in attacking another country, either.
For these reasons there is little necessity for us to maintain a large army. Rather than maintain an army with large personnel numbers, a better option would be to cut back on the size of the armed forces, and spend more funds on purchasing and deploying advanced naval and air weaponry to protect the waters around Taiwan.
If we do not make cutbacks the concern is that, over the long term, our military will become like that of North Korea, with a large personnel, but largely out-of-date equipment, which will not be able to stand up to a lighter, nimbler fighting force under modern warfare conditions.
Therefore, if in the future we do maintain an all-volunteer recruitment system, we will need to cut down on the size of our fighting force, otherwise we will be left with little budget and few people to recruit from, and wherein will we have the ability to find the numbers we need?
Even if we do reinstate the conscription system, given the falling birth rate and limited available budget, we will still be forced to reduce the size of the military, anyway.
Lee Chieh
Taipei
Government complacence
Why does the government pass laws that they never enforce?
Just over a year ago I got a letter from the Ministry of the Interior that said that if any county government were to allow rural land to be used for industrial purposes they could be prosecuted.
Well, it just so happened that about a week later the deputy leader of the Pingtung County Government came to visit us. We had explained our problems with the illegal stone factory next to us on a number of occasions. This time she again said that there was nothing she could do “to help us.”
So, I told her about the letter I had received from the ministry that said the county government could be prosecuted for allowing illegal use of rural land. She just laughed.
“It would never happen, especially if the complaint was made by a foreigner,” she said.
Needless to say, I was very disappointed with her response.
Now, it just so happens that I gave up my Canadian citizenship to become a Taiwanese citizen. I have pledged to do whatever I can to make Taiwan a better place for everyone.
As a citizen, I demand that the government start to “enforce” the laws of the land.
This issue of illegal use of rural land is something that urgently needs addressing. Only last month the Council of Agriculture said that the illegal use of rural land was something they wanted to address. (They could start with our neighbor “the illegal stone factory” and the Pingtung County Government if they like).
Today there was a big fire in Pingtung County that spewed out huge clouds of toxic gas and/or smoke for hours. It was from a factory that was operating on rural land. There is no way that the county government could not have known about it, but they allowed it to operate.
Now, as a citizen of Taiwan, I demand that the central government take decisive action against the Pingtung County Government. I have been complaining about the illegal stone factory next to us for years. I have written many letters to many departments, as well as the premier and the office of the president. I have included copies of documents and photographs that prove this to be true.
Yet the Pingtung County Government just either ignores me and the departments, or files reports that have false information or are irrelevant.
How about you start doing your job and maybe you will gain some respect and support from me and my fellow Taiwanese?
John Lamorie
Pingtung County
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