A proposed amendment to increase the compensation paid to children of military personnel who have died in the line of duty has advanced to the Legislative Yuan for review.
Sponsored by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) and others, the proposal would amend articles 13, 21 and 40 of the Indemnity Act for Military Personnel (軍人撫卹法) to increase the compensation that the underage children of soldiers receive.
While citing the importance of the Ministry of Education’s pledge to reduce or waive tuition fees for minors of soldiers killed in the line of duty, the draft amendment states that funds should also be allocated to help meet their daily needs.
Referencing the Police Personnel Management Act (警察人員人事條例) and the Act on Civil Servants’ Retirement or Layoff Payout (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法), the draft proposes increasing the payout to underage children by NT$12,000 per month until they reach adulthood or obtain a bachelor’s degree.
The amendment would be retroactive to apply to those already receiving indemnity payments.
Should the deceased soldier have more than one family member receiving indemnities, but who cannot make ends meet daily, the proposed amendment states that the payout should then be adjusted based on the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s report on the minimum cost of living.
All relatives of the deceased, except their underage children, should receive funds equal to minimal living fees, it said.
The proposed amendment would cost NT$950 million (US$33 million), which would come from the Ministry of National Defense budget.
The amendment was proposed after the July 4 death of a Marine Corps soldier while preparing for the annual Han Kuang military exercise, Wang said on Saturday.
Indemnity payouts for military personnel are based on their rank, which means little to low-level soldiers, he said, adding that soldiers’ underage children were not entitled to the same benefits as those of police officers, civil servants, educators and firefighters who die in the line of duty.
Members of the military should know that if anything happens to them on the front line, the nation is willing to care for their children, Wang said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS