The Ministry of National Defense’s proposed amendments to the General Mobilization Act (全民防衛動員準備法) have raised concerns over whether the changes would affect personal liberties.
The act was promulgated on Nov. 14, 2001, and was amended in 2014 and 2019.
The ministry yesterday said the law is focused too much on preparatory measures and lacks regulations defining a chain of command, a legal basis for expropriation during times of war and other issues.
Photo: CNA
The efficacy of the nation’s mobilization efforts is vital to its survival, the ministry said.
Article 13 of the act stipulates that all units in charge of mobilization readiness should ensure that personnel, equipment and facilities are prepared through inspections, inventory management and planning, to ensure the nation can defend itself in the event of an invasion.
A declaration of mobilization shows that a country is entering a time of alert, and necessary measures must be implemented, the ministry said.
The proposed amendments would protect the nation and ensure that Taiwanese can survive an attack, the ministry said, adding that it would consider all opinions before tendering another version for review.
It said it welcomes public input on the amendments, and called for calm and level-minded debates on the issue.
The ministry meanwhile denied a media report that the proposed amendment sought to use child labor to manufacture arms.
A section of the bill states: “School defense groups should assist with the production of military supplies.”
The ministry said the sentence does not mean that students would help manufacture ammunition.
The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that the Ministry of Education had asked local education offices nationwide to prepare lists of students aged 16 or above for mobilization purposes.
The newspaper said the list would be uploaded to the All-out Mobilization Defense Agency Web site and that the pupils would be used to manufacture munitions.
The ministry said creating such lists was regular practice, adding that the information would be uploaded to the Internet for ease of administrative management.
By law, school defense groups are not responsible for the wartime production of ammunition at military plants, the ministry said, adding that the groups would help manufacture 10 types of products, including food.
Additional reporting by CNA
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
RSS