The Ministry of National Defense has previewed proposed changes to the physical standards governing military service eligibility and exemptions.
The standards comprise 193 items, of which 180 would be revised under the proposed changes, according to the ministry.
Exemptions from military service would be granted only to those with a body mass index (BMI) above 45 or a height below 144cm, if the amendments are approved.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
The draft stipulates that only people with moderate or severe hypertension accompanied by damage to related organs would qualify for exemption. Such cases would be required to undergo 24-hour continuous blood pressure monitoring during a hospital stay of one to three days.
The ministry said the requirement was introduced in response to recent cases of organized conscription evasion.
To address differences in duties among alternative service positions, the proposed amendments would divide alternative service classifications into Grade A and Grade B, with conscripts assigned to different agencies accordingly.
Alternative service Grade A would apply to men with a BMI between 15 and 16.5, or between 32 and 37.5. Grade B would apply to those with a BMI below 15 or between 37.5 and 45.
Active-duty recruits would remain subject to the BMI standard of 16.5 to 32. For a 170cm tall person, the current exemption threshold of 101.3kg would be raised to 130.2kg if the amendment passes.
Height standards would be adjusted, with exemptions limited to those 144cm or shorter. Alternative service Grade A would apply to men who are 145cm to 149cm tall, while Grade B would carry no height restriction. Active duty standards would be revised to require a minimum height of 150cm.
Exemptions for flat feet would be abolished. Previously, those with an arch angle greater than 168° qualified for exemption.
Under the draft, such people would instead be classified as alternative service Grade A, while the active duty standard would be revised from an arch angle of 165° or less to 168° or less.
Cases of severe hallux valgus or varus with exostosis or bunion, as well as high foot arches with a Hibb’s angle greater than 90°, would be reclassified as alternative service Grade B rather than exempt.
Rules governing herniated intervertebral discs would be tightened. Under previous regulations, people who had undergone surgical removal were exempt. Under the draft, those whose condition has been treated and whose neurological electrophysiological tests show no nerve root or spinal cord damage would be classified as fit for active duty.
Those who have undergone disc removal surgery with no such damage would be classified as alternative service Grade A, while people with confirmed nerve root or spinal cord damage would be assigned to Grade B.
Only those who are legally recognized as disabled would qualify for exemption.
Those diagnosed with mental illness who have undergone treatment for more than one year and whose condition is confirmed upon re-examination would qualify for exemption. The remarks section would add a requirement for a psychological assessment report issued by a psychiatrist, accompanied by a complete treatment record of at least one year.
Exemption criteria for severe depressive disorder would likewise be tightened, extending the minimum treatment period from six months to one year. Those whose condition has not improved and experience impaired social functioning would be required to submit a psychiatrist-issued psychological assessment report and complete medical records.
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
RSS