Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) said yesterday the nation’s alternative military service would still be necessary even after the country adopts an all-volunteer military force.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) head made the remarks one day after the military said it would adopt an all-volunteer system as soon as 2014 to fulfill an election pledge made by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) earlier this year.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) would plan to implement the volunteer system beginning in 2010, decreasing the number of conscripts by 10 percent annually, Minister of Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) said on Thursday.
Under the ministry’s plan, those who do not volunteer for military service would still need to receive three or four months of basic military training.
The ministry would aim to maintain a 200,000-member force, down from more than 300,000 at present.
Liao told reporters after speaking to alternative service conscripts at a ceremony held at a military training base in Taichung County yesterday that he hoped alternative military service would remain in the future.
He said the 80,000 to 100,000 male citizens in Taiwan unwilling to volunteer for military service every year would be able to fulfill their military duties by receiving military training in schools or participating in alternative service.
Taiwan now has 14,000 to 16,000 alternative service conscripts serving at local schools, fire departments and high-tech companies, the MOI said.
Some of them have also been serving at government agencies in the fields of sports, diplomacy, tourism, medicine, culture and environmental protection.
Liao argued that such service prevents the waste of human resources or time.
For example, he said allowing alternative service conscripts to serve at local technology companies can both meet the companies’ needs for technology and people, while helping the conscripts keep their skills up to date.
The MOI also launched a program last year to help disadvantaged children with their school studies, with more than 400 alternative service conscripts joining the program this summer to assist more than 1,700 children.
Also yesterday, the defense minister said that Taiwan would follow the US and Japan in switching to an all-volunteer military, but added that further planning for financing military spending and restructuring the troops is needed.
At present, Taiwan’s conscription system targets males over the age of 18. Starting on Jan. 1 this year, Taiwan cut military service to one year.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said yesterday that the MND should first solve existing problems before adopting an all-volunteer force. Many people find it difficult to adjust to military life after volunteering to become soldiers or officers, he said.
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