President William Lai (賴清德) at a ceremony in Taipei on Wednesday to promote six armed forces officers said the military would “review the organizational structure of the main combat, defense and reserve forces” and, through regular exercises, test troops’ ability to carry out joint operations.
The consistent emphasis on combat resilience through practical training and focus on organizational reform in Lai’s military speeches is a demonstration of the importance the administration places on enhancing the military’s training quality and overall preparedness. This effort aims not only to culturally and structurally modernize Taiwan’s armed forces to meet global standards, but also to deliver high-quality, engaging and rewarding training to recruits to ensure they are equipped and motivated to defend the nation.
The reform focus of the administration is also evident in the emphasis it places on whole-of-society rapid response to disasters or contingencies. Ukraine’s resistance to the invasion by much-larger Russia has shown the importance of rapid whole-of-society mobilization — with civilians aiding logistics, medics training en masse and communities self-organizing. Lai on Thursday alongside Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and representatives from 13 countries oversaw the first civil defense drills under the societal resilience committee he launched last year, a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to improving national preparedness across all levels of society to meet contingencies.
Lai is building on the firm foundation laid by former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who not only reinstated one-year mandatory military service, but in addition to increasing defense spending, implementing an asymmetric strategy focus, supporting the indigenous defense industry and expanding civil defense drills, also set a new blueprint for bolstering military training, especially for reservists, while repurposing the reserve force to more seamlessly assist the main battle force.
In a televised address to the nation on Dec. 27, 2022 — the same address in which Tsai announced her decision to increase mandatory conscription from four months to one year — she called for shifting training from ceremonial and basic skills to practical combat capabilities, including urban warfare, asymmetric tactics, and for reservists to handle advanced weaponry such as Javelin missiles and drones.
Such reforms are important for conscripts, as they foster a sense of agency and purpose. When reservists train alongside active units, they feel that they are part of the fight, not just bystanders. Better training also breeds improved morale and confidence, which makes for better soldiers and effectiveness across all levels.
The announcement this week that in the first year since the reinstatement of one-year mandatory military service, 993 out of 6,956 conscripts, or 14.2 percent, remained in the armed forces as volunteer soldiers is an encouraging sign. This strong retention rate suggests that a meaningful portion of recruits found the experience rewarding, professionally valuable or aligned with their sense of duty. The figure signals growing confidence in Taiwan’s revamped training system, inspiring a new generation to serve.
However, meaningful reform still faces significant challenges. The military must overcome years of underinvestment in training, bureaucratic inertia and public skepticism toward service. Structural upgrades require not just new equipment and doctrine, but cultural change — breaking away from outdated practices and ensuring leaders at all levels embrace adaptability. Improving joint force integration, and command and control, also demands continued political will and funding.
Yet Lai’s strong political backing, the encouraging conscript retention rate and the US’ growing willingness to deepen military training with Taiwan augur well for the nation’s military reforms. With consistent leadership and sustained investment, Taiwan is on the right path to modernize its defense posture in line with the demands of contemporary warfare, while upgrading democratic resilience.
The government and local industries breathed a sigh of relief after Shin Kong Life Insurance Co last week said it would relinquish surface rights for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) to Nvidia Corp. The US chip-design giant’s plan to expand its local presence will be crucial for Taiwan to safeguard its core role in the global artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and to advance the nation’s AI development. The land in dispute is owned by the Taipei City Government, which in 2021 sold the rights to develop and use the two plots of land, codenamed T17 and T18, to the
US President Donald Trump has announced his eagerness to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un while in South Korea for the APEC summit. That implies a possible revival of US-North Korea talks, frozen since 2019. While some would dismiss such a move as appeasement, renewed US engagement with North Korea could benefit Taiwan’s security interests. The long-standing stalemate between Washington and Pyongyang has allowed Beijing to entrench its dominance in the region, creating a myth that only China can “manage” Kim’s rogue nation. That dynamic has allowed Beijing to present itself as an indispensable power broker: extracting concessions from Washington, Seoul
Taiwan’s labor force participation rate among people aged 65 or older was only 9.9 percent for 2023 — far lower than in other advanced countries, Ministry of Labor data showed. The rate is 38.3 percent in South Korea, 25.7 percent in Japan and 31.5 percent in Singapore. On the surface, it might look good that more older adults in Taiwan can retire, but in reality, it reflects policies that make it difficult for elderly people to participate in the labor market. Most workplaces lack age-friendly environments, and few offer retraining programs or flexible job arrangements for employees older than 55. As
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has offered Taiwan a paradoxical mix of reassurance and risk. Trump’s visceral hostility toward China could reinforce deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. Yet his disdain for alliances and penchant for transactional bargaining threaten to erode what Taiwan needs most: a reliable US commitment. Taiwan’s security depends less on US power than on US reliability, but Trump is undermining the latter. Deterrence without credibility is a hollow shield. Trump’s China policy in his second term has oscillated wildly between confrontation and conciliation. One day, he threatens Beijing with “massive” tariffs and calls China America’s “greatest geopolitical
RSS