A group of 14 female volunteer reservists yesterday morning reported to a site in northern Taoyuan to start five days of training, making them the first women in Taiwan to do so.
The reservists reported to a “strategic location” in Taoyuan’s Bade District (八德) before the deadline at noon, Reserve Command Political Warfare Department head Major General Hsieh Yung-wei (謝勇維) said.
The military does not publicize strategic locations for security reasons.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
The 14 women are to go through the same training as their male counterparts, Hsieh said.
However, they would have separate dormitories and bathrooms from the men, he added.
During the training, all reservists, regardless of gender, participate in live-fire rifle exercises and training according to their expertise, he said.
One of the reservists, surnamed Chiu (邱), told reporters after reporting for duty that she was happy to be able to revisit her military life again for five days.
She said it is important for women to have the same reservist training as their male counterparts, particularly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Another reservist, surnamed Chiang (江), who was discharged from the military more than a year ago, said although she volunteered for the training, she is nervous about the exercises, particularly as she works night shifts and is no longer used to waking up early.
However, refresher training is important given ongoing cross-strait tensions, she added.
“I want to do my part to safeguard the country,” she said.
Chiang’s husband, surnamed Ho (何), who accompanied her when she reported for training, told reporters that they met while serving in the military.
Ho said he has also left active military service and the couple have a one-year-old son.
He fully supports his wife’s decision to volunteer for reservist training, as the armed forces are like a big family to them, he said.
The Ministry of National Defense in January announced that it would start asking female reservists to volunteer for the same training as their male counterparts this year.
Previously, the military said it only trained male reservists because it did not have sufficient capacity to accommodate men and women.
Participants in reservist training have complained for decades that this was a form of gender discrimination.
While men in Taiwan are subject to compulsory military conscription and reservist training, women are not, but they can join the armed forces voluntarily to serve as soldiers and officers.
The ministry said it is now requiring military training for female soldiers, as all reservists regardless of gender should have the same responsibilities.
As of 2021, 8,915 women were listed as reservists. In addition to the reservists, 15 percent of Taiwan’s 180,000 active military personnel are women, military data showed.
The ministry said that 220 female reservists have volunteered to go through the required reservist training this year.
A Keelung high school on Saturday night apologized for using a picture containing a Chinese flag on the cover of the senior yearbook, adding that it has recalled the books and pledged to provide students new ones before graduation on Thursday. Of 309 Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University graduates, 248 had purchased the yearbook. Some students said that the printer committed an outrageous error in including the picture, while others said that nobody would notice such a small flag on the cover. Other students said that they cared more about the photographs of classmates and what was
GOING INTERNATIONAL: Rakuten Girls squad leader Ula Shen said she was surprised that baseball fans outside of Taiwan not only knew of them, but also knew their names Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics on Saturday hosted its first Taiwanese Heritage Day event at the Oakland Coliseum with a performance by Taiwanese cheerleading squad the Rakuten Girls and a video message from Vice President William Lai (賴清德). The Rakuten Girls, who are the cheerleaders for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys, performed in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, followed by a prerecorded address by Lai about Taiwan’s baseball culture and democratic spirit. Taiwanese pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸), who was signed by the Athletics earlier this year, was also present. Mizuki Lin (林襄), considered a “baseball cheerleading goddess” by Taiwanese
WAY OF THE RUKAI: ‘Values deemed worthy often exist amid discomfort, so when people go against the flow, nature becomes entwined with our lives,’ a student said “Run, don’t walk” after your dreams, Nvidia cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) told National Taiwan University (NTU) graduates yesterday, as several major universities held in-person graduation ceremonies for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. “What will you create? Whatever it is, run after it. Run, don’t walk. Remember, either you’re running for food, or you are running from becoming food. Oftentimes, you can’t tell which. Either way, run,” he said. Huang was one of several tech executives addressing graduating students at Taiwanese universities. National Chengchi University held two ceremonies, with alumnus Patrick Pan (潘先國), who is head of Taiwan
A 14-legged giant isopod is the highlight of a new dish at a ramen restaurant in Taipei and it has people lining up — both for pictures and for a bite from this bowl of noodles. Since “The Ramen Boy” launched the limited-edition noodle bowl on Monday last week, declaring in a social media post that it had “finally got this dream ingredient,” more than 100 people have joined a waiting list to dine at the restaurant. “It is so attractive because of its appearance — it looks very cute,” said the 37-year-old owner of the restaurant, who wanted to be
RSS