The four-month conscription rule aimed at wooing young voters was a ridiculous move on the part of Taiwan’s two largest political parties, former National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general Ting Yu-chou (丁渝洲) said on Sunday.
Former US secretary of defense Mark Esper, while visiting Taiwan last week, said that military service for conscripts should be extended to one year and women should be included in the program.
Taiwanese men had to serve two to three years in the military as part of a conscription system adopted by the Republic of China government after it relocated to Taiwan in 1949. Conscription was reduced to one year in 2008.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
During former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, the government announced that joining the armed forces would be voluntary and conscripts would only be required to undergo four months of military training, starting in 2013.
The policy has continued under the Democratic Progressive Party, which came into power in 2016.
The nation’s military is mainly a volunteer force now, with conscripts serving a supporting role.
“Shortening the conscription not only reduced the military strength of active-duty soldiers, but also paralyzed the strength of the reserve forces,” Ting said on Sunday at a book launch by former NSC deputy secretary-general Chang Jung-feng (張榮豐) in Taipei.
Ting served as head of the NSC from August 2001 to March 2002 under former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), and was head of the National Security Bureau and Ministry of National Defense’s Military Intelligence Bureau under former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
The world is paying attention to cross-strait issues and some countries have even listed Taiwan as one of the most dangerous regions in the world, Ting said.
He said that he had never been afraid of war when he served in the military, but is becoming more fearful of it after his retirement.
The Chinese military has grown at a fast pace over the past two decades, Ting said, adding that the gap between Taiwan’s and China’s military forces is widening.
Even if Taiwan were powerful enough to defeat China, it should avoid war, because it would harm its citizens, he added.
In addition to strengthening its military forces, Taiwan should focus on “soft strategies,” using diplomatic, psychological, economic and technological measures to safeguard the country, he said.
“Protecting the country’s best interests is an expression of love for Taiwan,” he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS