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Female reservist training program shows world Taiwan's resolve: Tsai

ROC Central News Agency

05/11/2023 06:08 PM

Taoyuan, May 11 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) inspected day four of the first ever voluntary female reservist training program at a military camp in Yangmei District, Taoyuan, Thursday, expressing hope that more retired female military personnel will attend reservist training programs to demonstrate Taiwan's resolve to defend itself.

The president, accompanied by National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正), watched a marksmanship exercise and listened to a briefing.

The president also handed out cash rewards of an unspecified amount to the reservists who voluntarily signed up for the refresher program, as a token of her gratitude for their dedication.

Fourteen female volunteer reservists enrolled to take part in Taiwan's first ever refresher program for women which started on Monday at a "strategic location" in Taoyuan's Bade District. The reservists have since undergone a chemical warfare simulation and completed a 5-kilometer march, and marksmanship exercise.

During her speech, Tsai said that some of the reservists took time off from work to participate in the training, while others left their children at home, describing these as concrete actions taken by the reservists to do their part to protect the country, the president said.

The purpose of holding reservist training programs is to familiarize trainees with a range of wartime scenarios, thereby putting into practice the military principle of being able to "mobilize and be combat-ready anytime, anywhere," she said.

Mobilization not only serves to improve Taiwan's reserve forces, but also related logistical work, Tsai said.

Tsai instructed the Defense Ministry to make any necessary adjustments and improvements for future female reservist programs, while expressing the hope that more retired female members of the armed forces will join the programs.

"Taiwan is on the frontline defending democracy, and [Taiwanese] regardless of gender must be united and demonstrate to the world our resolve to defend our country," the president said.

She thanked the reservists who took part in the training and their families, saying she hopes that by the time the program concludes on Friday they will have each learned something from it.

Taiwan's dual-track reservist training program consists of a 5-to 7-day program and a 14-day program, with the number of reservists needed for the first one set at 96,000 and the number of trainees for the second one to be raised this year from 15,000 to 22,000.

(By Wu Sheng-hung and Sean Lin)

Enditem/AW