To counter China’s growing infiltration tactics, the military plans to offer emergency loans to active-duty personnel to alleviate financial stress and help them stay focused on combat training.
The Ministry of National Defense on Thursday announced plans to revise its operations fund regulations, aiming to provide emergency loans to active-duty military personnel and their families.
The initiative is in response to Beijing’s attempts to lure Taiwanese military personnel by offering small loans in exchange for sensitive information.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Current regulations state that civil servants can apply for loans of up to NT$1.2 million (US$40,744) to cover emergencies such as medical care, funerals, disasters, parental leave, postpartum care and long-term care.
The loans offer a maximum repayment period of six years, with a low interest rate of 1.695 percent.
However, there is no system in place for military personnel to access emergency loans, forcing them to rely on private institutions when urgent financial needs arise.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) had raised the issue at previous Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meetings.
China has been offering loans to military personnel to lure them into gathering sensitive military intelligence, and urged the ministry to establish policies for emergency loans to counter the threat, they said.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) in April said that the ministry had submitted a proposal for emergency financial assistance to the Executive Yuan, and the details were still being finalized.
Given the nature of military work, lending rates and limits should be more favorable than those offered to civil servants, he said.
On Thursday, the ministry announced proposed amendments to the Regulations of Managing and Using the Fund of Production and Services for Military Personnel (國軍生產及服務作業基金收支保管及運用辦法).
The amendment aims to help military personnel cover urgent expenses, such as medical bills, funerals, natural disasters, childcare, postpartum care and long-term care, enabling them to focus on training and duties without financial stress, the ministry said.
The proposed amendment introduces the objective of “providing emergency loans to military personnel” in Article 1 of the regulations and includes a new provision in Article 5 allowing the fund to be used for “emergency loan funding for military personnel.”
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