New military hardship loans would start next month to counter Chinese espionage and fraud syndicate efforts targeting economically vulnerable military service members, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The announcement comes on the heels of multiple legal cases involving military personnel who allegedly sold state secrets to pay debts to gang-affiliated lenders with connections to Chinese spies.
The military is to provide low-interest loans to help keep service members from entering compromising deals with unregistered money lenders, Major General Hsin Yi-tsung (辛宜聰) from the ministry’s Comptroller Bureau told a news conference.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The plan is modeled after civil servant financial relief loans, Hsin said.
Service members would be eligible for loans of up to NT$1.2 million (US$38,452) with interest rates as low as 1.695 percent if they or their immediate family have financial needs related to injuries or sickness, spousal death, natural disasters, childbirth, post-natal care or long-term care, he said.
Those who apply must have at least six months of service remaining to qualify, he said, adding that the loans would be provided in NT$600,000 increments, except for small-sum relief loans of no more than NT$200,000.
The floating interest rate on the loans would be 0.025 percent lower than the rate on postal savings accounts, he said.
Military personnel may take out the loans without a guarantor if they borrow NT$100,000 or less, have at least one year remaining of their service term and a credit score higher than 401, Hsin said.
Service members interested in the loans should request a credit report from banking institutions to apply, he added.
They can apply for the loans online via the armed forces salary and wealth management platform or by contacting the military’s regional fiscal office, Hsin said.
Repayments are deducted from pay with the expectation that all of the debt would be paid by the time the borrower retires from the military, he said.
The financial institutions that issue the loans would foreclose on assets should debtors be unable to repay them, he added.
The plan is to be authorized via expected amendments to regulations governing the management and use of military production and service funds, Hsin said.
In related news, the Army Matsu Defense Command on Monday said that authorities have launched a probe into the alleged use of bank accounts belonging to more than 60 service members in connection to financial fraud.
The investigation by the Lienchiang District Prosecutors’ Office said that a staff sergeant collected financial information and online vendor accounts from colleagues for use by a fraud group, the command said.
Military personnel involved in the scheme would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, it said.
Major General Sun Li-fang (孫立方), the ministry’s spokesman, said that harms the military and is also a serious threat to the public.
Aside from emergency loans, the ministry is taking measures — including improving the personal finance skills of service members, teaching them to identify fraud methods, and promoting education regarding the law and discipline — to help military personnel avoid debt traps and involvement in espionage, Sun said.
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