New rules governing military service eligibility, exemptions and suspension from active service due to illness or injury are to take effect on Oct. 31, with changes to physical standards, including height and weight, and the health conditions that would qualify for exemption, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said today.
Exemptions from military service would be granted only to those with a body mass index of more than 45 or a height below 144cm, the ministry said.
In addition, only people with moderate or severe hypertension accompanied by organ damage would qualify for exemption, it said, adding that those involved in such cases would be required to undergo 24-hour continuous blood pressure monitoring during a hospital stay of one to three days.
Photo: CNA
The ministry in December last year announced proposed amendments to the physical standards for exemption in response to recent cases involving organized evasion of military service, especially among celebrities.
Last month, it announced further amendments to the standards for suspension from active service due to illness or injury among reserve officers and reserve non-commissioned officers. Those amendments would revise 160 of the 176 items listed in the standards for suspension.
The draft amendments completed the regulatory notice period on Monday last week and the ministry is conducting a final review of them, said Tsai Shih-hung (蔡適鴻), director of the MND Medical Affairs Bureau's Department of Medical Management.
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