Residents from Hong Kong and Macau might soon be able to register as volunteer soldiers after living in Taiwan for 10 years under amendments proposed by the Ministry of National Defense.
The Act of Military Service for Volunteer Enlisted Soldiers (志願士兵服役條例) currently requires people from China and the two territories to have a household registration in Taiwan for at least 20 years before they can enroll as a volunteer soldier.
The changes would halve the requirement for people from Hong Kong and Macau, while keeping it the same for residents originally from China.
Photo: Reuters
The time period was selected considering language in the Laws and Regulations Regarding Hong Kong and Macau Affairs (香港澳門關係條例), the ministry said.
Under the law, residents from the territories are barred from registering as candidates for public office, serving in the military or organizing political parties if they have not maintained a household residence for 10 years.
The amendment would also remove the phrase “physical weakness” from the criteria for being retired from active duty, the ministry said, citing imprecise language.
If removed, it would leave “illness and injury” as criteria for retirement.
In other news, former chief of the general staff Lee Hsi-min (李喜明) on Friday said that Taiwan should overhaul its reservist training system to create a more effective military reserve force, rather than maintaining one that is large, but “not so useful.”
Although Taiwan has a 2 million-strong military reserve force, it does not have sufficient equipment, weapons, or trainers for such numbers, which makes the system not particularly useful, said Lee, who served as chief of the general staff from 2017 to 2019.
One way to improve the existing reservist system is to adopt Singapore’s method of requiring reservists to undergo monthly training conducted over one weekend, in addition to having them attend a 14-day annual training program, the review said.
A highly mobile and well-trained reserve force would help to alleviate pressure on the military when trying to maintain a sizable regular force, but to achieve that goal would require reforms to be implemented, Lee said.
He recommended introducing an all-voluntary reserve force system and having volunteers attend a special forces training program, in addition to equipping them with portable weapons such as suicide drones or shoulder-mounted Stinger and Javelin missiles.
If one out of 10 active reservists volunteered, the armed forces would have a 200,000-strong reserve force, which when dispersed across Taiwan would be a formidable deterrent, especially if they operate as guerrillas, Lee said.
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
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
RSS