Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday criticized a plan to phase out military instructors from schools by 2021, saying that it would increase security risks, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said the role of military instructors is overvalued and abused.
While universities can retire military instructors at their discretion, military instructors at high schools should stay, because their roles in handling bullies, drug abuse and psychological counseling cannot be filled by teachers or security guards, KMT Legislator Lee Yan-hsiu (李彥秀) told a news conference in Taipei.
The Legislative Yuan in 2013 passed a resolution to phase out all military instructors from schools within eight years.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
KMT Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) questioned the need for the phase-out, as universities have hired retired military instructors as security personnel.
“Military instructors are acceptable if they are not in uniform? What kind of logic is that?” Ko asked.
Ko said the removal of military instructors without proper supportive measures would “make parents anxious, while emboldening gangsters and drug dealers.”
KMT Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲) said military instructors were assigned to schools during the Martial Law era to collect intelligence, but today there is no need to censor student activities.
There is a rigorous training and evaluation regime for the instructors, who are responsible for military training, campus security and counseling, retired military instructor Chin Su-Hsien (金肅賢) said at the KMT caucus’ news conference.
How would such duties be fulfilled if military instructors are phased out, Chin asked.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee that the education system is “addicted to” military instructors and has abused their services.
Military instructors are schools’ “iPhones,” as they are asked to fill multiple roles and are commonly overworked, she said.
“Military instructors are not all-powerful, but they are perceived as a role that cannot be done without. Undue praise of their functions shows that the education system has failed,” she said.
Schools have become dependent on military instructors because they have shifted too much responsibility to them, DPP Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) said.
The Ministry of Education retains a number of military instructors, so it should set an example before asking schools to retire them, Huang said.
Military instructors are recruited either from the military or from a special training program run by the ministry, DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said, asking whether they could be transferred to positions with the Ministry of National Defense.
The defense ministry said the instructors cannot be reassigned to military posts even if they have served in the military.
The education ministry should help the instructors gain promotion to the rank of major to entitle them to a life-time pension and help them seek employment opportunities after retirement, Chung said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS