The implementation date for an all-volunteer military has been pushed back two years from 2015 to 2017 because of recruitment difficulties, the Ministry of National Defense announced yesterday at a press conference.
The military was scheduled to shift to an all-volunteer force by the end of next year. However, the ministry has experienced difficulties recruiting sufficient volunteers in the past 20 months since the Executive Yuan approved the plan last year and has been forced to defer implementation.
The Executive Yuan has approved the ministry’s revised plan, which would men born before Dec. 31, 1993, to serve a one-year mandatory military service, with those born after Jan. 1, 1994 receiving a four-month basic military training, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major-General David Lo (羅紹和) said.
Photo: CNA
Those who were born before Dec. 31, 1993, had only been required for substitute services, but now are needed to fill the personnel shortage.
An all-volunteer military has been one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) most important campaign pledges.
The ministry had planned to cut the size of the military from 235,000 to 215,000, of which 176,000 would be volunteers, by 2015.
The ministry was concerned that the nation’s armed forces would not be sufficiently strong to carry out their duties of safeguarding the nation and disaster relief if volunteer recruitment continued to fall short of the original goal.
Its recruitment has been further hampered by the case of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘), who died following alleged abuse at a military detention facility in July, triggering a protest by about 250,000 people last month demanding reform of the military.
Wang Tien-de (王天德), director of the ministry’s Department of Resources Planning, estimated that 60,000 draftees would be affected.
Wang denied that plans to create an all-volunteer military had failed, reiterating that the ministry is still working toward reaching that goal.
Draftees born before Dec. 31, 1993, could still apply for alternative non-military community service, but they could have to go through a draw, said Tsai Ching-chih (蔡清治), director of Draft Division of the National Conscription Agency.
The ministry said it believed benefits and welfare for military personnel would have to be increased to provide extra incentive for those who are interested in a military career.
Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers have criticized Ma for violating his campaign pledge, with Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) saying that Ma’s poor leadership as commander-in-chief was why the military had become notorious for its low morale and mismanagement, which had subsequently resulted in recruitment problems.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said that deferring the implementation date for an all-volunteer military would only be a temporary remedy to address personnel shortages.
“In the long run the ministry will still have to find a solution [to the lack of recruits], otherwise the problem will resurface in two years’ time,” Lin said.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the