Military explains some changes to conscript system
ROC Central News Agency
2013/09/13 22:02:09
Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense said Friday that while it will continue a recruitment drive for volunteers to serve in the military, it will also be hanging on to the current conscript system for the time being.
Wang Tien-teh, an official in charge of resources planning, explained that all male citizens are still required to fulfill compulsory military obligations as written in the Constitution, while career soldiers are also welcomed.
Taiwan originally aimed to move to a streamlined, all-volunteer military by the year 2015, but the plan has been pushed back to 2017 due to lower-than-expected recruitment numbers.
For some conscripts in 2014 and 2015, who were originally all eligible for alternative service such as administrative work, the delay means they will need to complete a year of regular military service.
The military will need some 30,000 conscripts for regular services in each of those years as it continues to downsize and modernize, Wang said.
Men born after 1994 can look forward to shorter service terms after 2014, though. They will be required to complete four months of training before being put into reserve, instead of the current requirement of one year of active service, he said.
The changes are part of the military's continued push for 'fewer soldiers in peacetime and more soldiers in wartime,' Wang said.
The defense ministry has also asked the Executive Yuan to raise starting salaries for volunteer soldiers in a bid to boost interest in recruitment, he said.
Taiwan has said it wants a leaner, more professional force of 215,000 volunteers to replace its current force of around 240,000 volunteers and conscripts.
(By Kelven Huang and Lillian Wu)
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