As Ukrainians defend their country from a Russian invasion, an overwhelming majority of Taiwanese responding to a Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation survey said they think Taiwan’s mandatory military service is too short.
The survey — conducted by the foundation on Monday and Tuesday last week — found that 76.8 percent of respondents aged 20 or older disapproved of Taiwan’s mandatory military service, with 75.9 percent saying that it should be lengthened to one year as a measure to shore up the country’s defenses against Chinese aggression, foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) told a news conference.
In Taiwan, combat units are comprised of volunteers, while men of military age complete a mandatory four-month boot camp, leaving as military reservists.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
Most respondents disagreed that the US would fight to protect Taiwan if China invades, including 26.5 percent who somewhat disagreed and 29.4 percent who strongly disagreed.
Seventy-eight percent of respondents disagreed that Taiwan’s military could deter Chinese aggression on its own, while 59.7 percent expressed concern that Taiwan might need to fight invaders alone, as Ukraine is doing.
Respondents largely supported Taipei’s participation in international trade sanctions against Russia, with 64.4 percent approving and 23.6 percent disapproving.
The survey, which collected 1,077 valid samples by landline telephone, has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Speaking at the news conference, former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) slammed President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration over “lukewarm support” for proposals to bolster conscription.
Tsai’s silence on conscription and Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng’s (邱國正) comment that he “looks favorably” on extending it fall short of the leadership being shown by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, he said.
The president and defense minister’s attitude puts them at odds with public opinion at a time when Taiwanese are ever more alert to Chinese aggression, Lin said.
Of the survey respondents 51.8 percent approved and 33.4 percent disapproved of Tsai’s performance, while 47 percent approved and 42.6 percent disapproved of Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) performance.
With an approval rating of 36.1 percent, the DPP remained the most popular political party, followed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at 14 percent, the Taiwan People’s Party at 13.5 percent, the New Power Party at 2.8 percent and the Taiwan Statebuilding Party at 2.5 percent.
University of Taipei industrial management and marketing professor Timothy Ting (丁庭宇), a former Taipei deputy mayor, told reporters that conscripts should serve two years and receive the same pay as active-duty soldiers.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS