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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS