Some members of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration feel that now is the time to discuss extending mandatory military service, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a source said yesterday.
Politicians of both major parties in the past avoided the issue of extending mandatory military service out of fear of losing the support of younger voters, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Some are calling for the issue to be discussed now, because of the uncertainty sparked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the official added.
Photo: Bloomberg
Asked recently about the issue, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said that although lengthening the military service period is not solely his decision, he agreed with an extension in theory.
“If it would benefit the safe and sustainable development of our country, then several months or a year more shouldn’t be a problem,” Hsu said.
“Two issues would need to be discussed before the service length is extended,” the official said yesterday. “First, how many troops Taiwan needs and how much the defense budget needs to be increased, and second, if the service length is extended, how would that affect the supply of labor for industry?”
The service length that would likely benefit the military the most while affecting industry the least would be between nine months and one year, the official said.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) on Friday said that the issue is being discussed by the administration, but that the current focus is on bolstering the reserve force, and “integrating reserves and active-duty personnel into a single system.”
The aim is to ensure that Taiwan could call up a sufficient number of well-trained personnel if the need suddenly arises, he said.
Whether mandatory service should be extended, and by how much, would depend on training capacity, as well as how much it would benefit Taiwan’s asymmetrical combat capability, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS