The military is to consider medical records and body mass index (BMI) in addition to a traditional physical examination when determining if a man of conscription age is eligible for an exemption from military service, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.
Ministry officials said they would toughen the criteria for conscription exemptions after several entertainers on Tuesday confessed to tampering with the results of their physicals to avoid service.
The New Taipei City Police Department early yesterday arrested Hsieh Kun-da (謝坤達), a member of Taiwanese boy band Energy, after he landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Photo: CNA
Hsieh reportedly avoided military service by falsifying medical records.
Three of the five members of Energy received exemptions from conscription based on their physical status.
The interior ministry has been working with the Ministry of National Defense since May to change the physical exam, after finding that 16 percent of men of conscription age in 2023 were exempted from mandatory military service, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) told reporters before attending a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
The exemptions included those who were overweight or reported having cardiovascular diseases, mental illnesses or other health issues, Liu said.
“After comparing records in the National Health Insurance [NHI] database, we think it is highly unlikely that Taiwan has such a high percentage of men who can be exempt from conscription. Some of them might have forged medical documents,” she said.
The two ministries would also change the procedures and the criteria of conscription physical exams by consulting those used in other Asian countries, she added.
Physical exams for conscripts should be thoroughly executed, and results compared with their medical records in the NHI database to determine if they meet the requirements for exemption, she said.
Department of Conscription Administration Director Sheng Che-fang (沈哲芳) told legislators at the committee meeting that under the new system conscripts could be exempt from conscription with a BMI of 45.
“The new policy, once implemented, would make it almost impossible to dodge the draft by gaining weight,” Sheng said.
The index is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare found that the average height of 18-year-old males from 2017 to 2020 was 1.721m. To reach a BMI of 45 or greater, a man would have to weigh at least 133.3kg.
Previously, people would be automatically exempted from military service if they had hypertension or hypotension, but under the new system, those who claim to have blood pressure abnormalities would be subject to an in-hospital checkup and would only be exempted from conscription if their blood pressure issues are determined to lead to cardiovascular diseases, Sheng said.
Meanwhile, the ministry is also consulting medical professionals about the possibility of setting the BMI range for eligible conscripts to at 15 to 45, he said.
Additionally, men of conscription age who report having minor flat feet could be asked to serve alternative military service instead, he said.
Currently, men of conscription age would not be drafted if they have BMI greater than 35 or smaller than 15, or flat fleet with an arch angle of 165°.
Liu said that prosecutors have targeted doctors who produced falsified medical records for conscripts, without providing further details.
Exposed draft dodgers would be required to fulfill their military service if they are younger than 36, Liu said, adding that the ministry would find ways to handle those older than 36.
The legislature plans to propose amendments to the Enforcement Statute for Substitute Services (替代役實施條例) and other regulations to address issues with the draft dodgers, she said, adding that it would consult defense and health officials and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that penalties for draft dodgers are consistent.
Draft dodgers currently face up to six months in prison, but that sentence might be light considering mandatory military service has been extended to one year from four months, Liu said.
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
MORE RESPONSIBILITY: Draftees would be expected to fight alongside professional soldiers, likely requiring the transformation of some training brigades into combat units The armed forces are to start incorporating new conscripts into combined arms brigades this year to enhance combat readiness, the Executive Yuan’s latest policy report said. The new policy would affect Taiwanese men entering the military for their compulsory service, which was extended to one year under reforms by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022. The conscripts would be trained to operate machine guns, uncrewed aerial vehicles, anti-tank guided missile launchers and Stinger air defense systems, the report said, adding that the basic training would be lengthened to eight weeks. After basic training, conscripts would be sorted into infantry battalions that would take
GROWING AMBITIONS: The scale and tempo of the operations show that the Strait has become the core theater for China to expand its security interests, the report said Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have surged nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs. Sorties in the Taiwan Strait were previously irregular, totaling 380 in 2020, but have since evolved into routine operations, the report showed. “This demonstrates that the Taiwan Strait has become both the starting point and testing ground for Beijing’s expansionist ambitions,” it said. Driven by military expansionism, China is systematically pursuing actions aimed at altering the regional “status quo,” the department said, adding that Taiwan represents the most critical link in China’s
‘REALLY PROUD’: Nvidia would not be possible without Taiwan, Huang said, adding that TSMC would be increasing its capacity by 100 percent Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday praised and lightly cajoled his major Taiwanese suppliers to produce more to help power strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), capping a visit to the country of his birth, where he has been mobbed by adoring fans at every step. Speaking at an impromptu press conference in the rain outside a Taipei restaurant, where he had hosted suppliers for a “trillion-dollar dinner,” named after the market capitalization of those firms attending, Huang said this would be another good year for business. “TSMC needs to work very hard this year because I need a lot
RSS