The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a NT$30,000 (US$1,002) monthly allowance for voluntary military service members and higher salaries for those in combat units, in a bid to boost flagging military recruitment and retention.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus, which proposed the amendments to the Pay Act of the Armed Forces (軍人待遇條例), said that salaries must be raised to reflect increased frequency of duties and training, as well as boost recruitment incentives and retain top talent.
As rising cross-strait tensions have increased the workload of combat units, the bill introduces a new allowance to incentivize recruitment, the KMT caucus said.
Photo: CNA
The bill standardizes regional allowances by eliminating restrictions based on service category and rank, emphasizing instead that such allowances should be determined by the remoteness and inconvenience of the service location, the caucus said.
It also allows for overtime pay, so that if service members do not use all their leave, they can convert it into pay.
In addition, it stipulates that salaries should be appropriately adjusted so that military personnel’s income is not affected by inflation.
The bill, which passed its third reading, is set to go into effect from Jan. 1 next year.
Earlier yesterday morning, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that the bill contravenes the Budget Act (預算法) and the Constitution, and urged lawmakers not to “repeat the same mistakes” or the Executive Yuan would take action if necessary.
The Budget Act stipulates that if the Legislative Yuan introduces legislation that would significantly increase the annual expenditure of the central government, it must consult the Executive Yuan, he said.
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus also held a news conference earlier yesterday to explain its version of the amendment, after it failed to reach a consensus with the KMT caucus on a consolidated bill.
TPP Legislator Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) said the military is struggling to recruit and retain people, and an increasing number of volunteer service members have been retiring.
About half of the early discharge applications are due to insufficient salary and benefits, she said, adding that all members of the TPP caucus agree that raising salaries is the fastest way to retain talent.
As the government plans to spend 3 percent of GDP on defense next year, the budget is sufficient to cover these raises, she said.
The TPP caucus’ proposal sought to increase and standardize compensation for volunteer soldiers, rather than instating a salary increase across the board.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) accused the opposition alliance, which has a majority in the Legislative Yuan, of undercutting national defense spending while approving wage increases for the military.
The KMT is mandating that the government spend an additional NT$38.6 billion to increase the wages for the military, which could be unconstitutional, she said.
It is clear the KMT is doing everything it can to pander to the public and detract from the recall campaigns, she said.
The DPP government has increased military wages four times since it has been in power, compared with the one time that wages were increased under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), she added.
In other developments, the Legislative Yuan yesterday also passed an amendment extending tax breaks for energy-efficient appliances until Dec. 31, 2029, four days before they were due to expire.
Article 11-1 of the Commodity Tax Act (貨物稅條例) reduces taxes on new energy-efficient refrigerators, air-conditioners and dehumidifiers by NT$2,000 per unit.
The reduction was set to expire on Saturday, before lawmakers passed the amendment to keep it in effect.
The act only applies to new appliances that are classified as first or second-level energy efficient by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
Taiwan is hosting the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) for the first time, welcoming more than 400 young linguists from 43 nations to National Taiwan University (NTU). Deputy Minister of Education Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said at the opening ceremony yesterday that language passes down knowledge and culture, and influences the way humankind thinks and understands the world. Taiwan is a multicultural and multilingual nation, with Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, 16 indigenous languages and Taiwan Sign Language all used, Chu said. In addition, Taiwan promotes multilingual education, emphasizes the cultural significance of languages and supports the international mother language movement, he said. Taiwan has long participated
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
RSS