Military personnel retirement rates over the past three years have remained steady, and have even dropped significantly so far this year, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday, rebutting a report by online media RW News that a spike in military retirement threatens national security.
The number of officers who retired from the military last year dropped by 325 people compared with the previous year, while 82 percent of officers of retirement age have opted to remain in service, the ministry said.
The Chinese-language media Web site reported that graduates of the 2004 class of officers have served a full 20 years and are eligible for retirement.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The report added that the 2015 class of officers — most of whom are now lieutenants, majors and captains — are planning to retire en masse as they have now reached the minimum years of service for retirement.
Like other industries, the military has to deal with issues such as a declining birthrate and offering wages that are comparable to civilian compensation to retain talent, the ministry.
The military has responded by increasing wages for volunteer and combat troops, enacted policies to increase military benefits — such as improving base facilities and housing for military dependents — and utilizing better equipment, such as new rifles, the ministry said.
The ministry called on the media to stop spreading false reports that besmirch the military, whose members are committed and are training tirelessly to protect the nation against ever-increasing threats to the country’s sovereignty and freedom.
Separately, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said he believed that no ministry personnel are involved in an ongoing investigation on alleged spying for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑), the assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), is under investigation for allegedly spying for the CCP from the time he started working at the foreign affairs ministry in 2018 until last year.
Ho had not worked for the National Security Council or the defense ministry, Koo said, adding that security background checks were conducted every three years and he believed no defense ministry personnel were involved in the incident.
Commenting on the RW News report, Koo said that the military personnel retention rate has increased by 3.25 percent this year, but added that the defense ministry cannot afford to be complacent and should continue to improve its policies to maximize personnel and officer retention.
Asked about the indigenous submarine Hai Kun (海鯤), or “Narwhal,” that Taiwan is building, Koo said it should not undergo sea trials until it has “aced” its harbor acceptance test.
That is contrary to the navy’s agreement with shipbuilder CSBC that the submarine would undergo sea trials in the middle of or later this month.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS