The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, implemented since 1997, is to see the first batch of eight cadets commissioned on Saturday together with graduates from military academies.
The eight would-be officers will go into service in the army by the end of this month, becoming the first to serve as ROTC officers in Taiwan's military history, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced yesterday.
The ROTC is an experimental program based on a US system with the same name.
It is expected to widen the sources of enlistees in the armed forces.
The eight ROTC cadets will be commissioned on Saturday together with hundreds of graduates from different military academies in a joint commissioning and graduation ceremony scheduled to be presided over by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). The ceremony is to take place at the Taipei-based Political Warfare College.
The eight ROTC cadets, from different universities around the island, are now taking political education courses at the Political Warfare College, which is a must for all enlistees. They initially had six other fellow trainees, but these six dropped out of the program within one year of registering. They are to serve for five years in the army, which is the required term of service in exchange for the scholarships and allowances they receive from the military from sophomore to senior years.
They may opt to extend their service term after the five years are up, but they will not be given any guarantee about how many more years they can stay in the service because higher-ranked positions are becoming fewer due to the Ching Shih personnel streamline project, a defense official said.
"Although the ROTC program had only 14 accepted applicants in its first year [1997], it has been attracting more and more college students over the past three years," Colonel Tang Hsiang-yun (
"Accepted applicants in the second year rose slightly higher to 19 in total. The figure jumped to 83 last year. This year sees a further growth to 115 in all. We plan to accept a total of 120 next year," Tang said.
Besides the financial subsidies given to the program participants during their college years, Tang said, they are also granted the flexibility to pursue a higher degree while in service.
"They may apply for graduate schools both at home and abroad. If they are accepted, they may start their post-graduate study after serving one year in the army," Tang said.
"Because of the growing popularity of the ROTC program among college students, the air force and navy are now considering following in the army's footsteps to try and recruit new blood," he said.
In addition, the army also plans to widen operational choices for the ROTC cadets, who are now only offered places in the most physically-demanding branches of the army, such as infantry and artillery.
"This year, we offer an extra operational choice for the ROTC cadets -- communications," Tang said.
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS