The Ministry of National Defense has proposed a NT$1.19 billion (US$39.2 million) budget to increase the pay rate of 29,995 military personnel who were not included in a previous raise for combat troops, a ministry official said.
To boost enlistment and morale, units not included in the 2015 pay raise are to be classified as either “type one” or “type two” combat units, the official said.
The army’s 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion and the drone-flying squadrons of its Aviation and the Special Forces Command are among the units that are to receive better pay under the new plan, the official said.
The plan has been submitted to the Executive Yuan as a ministry priority and is to be implemented as soon as January next year if both it and the Legislative Yuan approve the proposal without alteration, the official said.
The previous pay increase for combat troops was implemented on April 1, 2015, but many units continue to experience recruitment shortages, the official said.
The exclusion of many units within brigade-level organizations is believed to be the cause of the problem, the ministry said.
To address the issue, the ministry devised the proposal to incorporate the units that were left out of the original plan, the official said.
Under the proposal, the army’s drone squadrons and the 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion are to be included in the “type one” classification, increasing members’ pay by NT$5,000 per month, the official said.
Other units to be incorporated as type one include the navy’s 256th Submarine Unit’s support squadron; the Hai Feng Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile Group squadrons; and the marines’ Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit’s reconnaissance teams and underwater demolition team, the official said.
Units within the army’s brigades and corps that did not receive pay raises, such as chemical warfare, communication, electronics and information, engineering, maintenance, sanitation, military police and training, are to be classified as “type two” combat units, increasing the soldiers’ monthly pay by NT$3,000.
The infantry, armor and artillery units organic to the battalion headquarters of the army and the marines are to be reclassified from type two to type one, a ministry official said.
The official said the reclassification of formations from type two to type one would add an estimated NT$62 million to the ministry’s annual budget, which is not included in the NT$1.19 billion figure.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS