The military will evaluate the possibility of recruiting foreign mercenaries to boost the nation's defense, a defense official said yesterday.
The evaluation will study what mercenaries can contribute to Taiwan's national defense as well as how many would be useful, said Major General Hsia Chih-hsin (夏知新), a section chief with the manpower department of the Ministry of National Defense (MND), at a press conference.
"The evaluation will be completed within six months. It will be handled by a task force of the MND," Hsia said.
Hsia declined to say from which countries the military was considering recruiting mercenaries, but said the salary on offer would not be high and loyalty was a concern.
"We would prefer to set the salaries at a range between NT$15,000 and NT$20,000 per month," Hsia said. "We cannot afford any more.
"Our major concern regarding the issue is the loyalty of foreign mercenaries. We fear that they cannot be as loyal as local soldiers," he said.
Hsia also confirmed yesterday that an experimental enlistment of professional soldiers would be launched at the beginning of next year.
The experimental program will last for three years, after which the military will decide whether to continue, and perhaps enlarge, the program, Hsia said.
The military will enlist 1,018 professional soldiers to man three battalions selected from the three services to test the workability of the program.
"If the program works well, the military will raise the ratio of enlisted soldiers to conscripted ones year by year. Our goal is to reduce the percentage of conscripts, including soldiers and reserve officers and non-commissioned officers, from the current 65 percent to 40 percent," Hsia said.
"By that time, the military will recruit the majority of its personnel via enlistment. Conscription will be kept as an auxiliary," he said.
Hsia did not provide a timetable but said that by increasing the number of enlisted soldiers and reducing conscripts year by year, the military expects to reduce the number of people in the services from 380,000 to 300,000.
However, Hsia admitted the success of the program would depend on whether young people were attracted by the salaries on offer.
The starting salary for each enlisted soldier will be NT$23,000 per month, Hsia said, but the real earnings could be as much as NT$28,000, since there is a bonus of NT$5,000 a month.
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