The legislature’s Budget Center has called on the military to release 191 unused bases for development to avoid waste, saying maintenance is likely to cost taxpayers about NT$26.19 million (US$829,322) in the coming fiscal year.
The findings, published by the center in a report, said that due to military cutbacks between 1997 and 2014, the total number of armed forces personnel fell from 460,000 to 210,000, with many barracks becoming unused and redundant.
The Ministry of National Defense has been amalgamating its camps, establishing barracks that house personnel from all three branches of the military and relocating away from cities, the report said.
Empty bases must have guard patrols to deter crime and regular sanitation sweeps to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, as multiple infestations have been reported at the sites, it said.
However, the ministry’s efforts to release idle bases have not kept pace with their evacuation and as of June this year, the number of unused bases had increased to 191, causing security and sanitation-related expenses to rise from NT$6.47 million in 2013 to an estimated NT$26.19 next year, it said.
A total of 1,906 vacant structures and 357,302m2 of floor space are contained within the 191 unused bases and maintenance costs are “a drain on public funds” and “disadvantageous to the efficient use of government resources,” the report said.
According to sources, releasing idle bases from military control is constrained by factors such as strategic value and the demands of local development, and the military is often hesitant to yield unused facilities, fearing that they could be needed for unanticipated reasons or emergencies.
Former minister of national defense Kao Kuang-chi (高廣圻) had previously told reporters that it is necessary to keep barracks and drill grounds in excess of the needs of the current force if the nation is to maintain its ability to mobilize reserve combat units and their logistical counterparts.
Any camp or base released from military control could cause irreversible losses if needed in the future, he said.
In response to the report, the ministry said the Armaments Bureau had prepared detailed plans for releasing unneeded military camps under a compensation scheme, and the budgets allocated to vacant sites are pertinent to public safety and sanitation needs.
When asked for comment, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said lawmakers should defer to the Ministry of National Defense regarding to its retention of strategically important bases or other facilities allocated for the needs of reservists, which are distinct from unused bases.
To avoid unnecessary expenditure or their abuse by criminal elements, the idle camps that serve no potentially useful military end should be repurposed as soon as possible, Wang said.
“The Ministry of National Defense should itemize its idle camps, review its strategic deployment plans and make a report to the legislature; reusing the lots for ‘green’ zones, parking space, community activity centers, care centers and day care centers should all be considered,” he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲) said due to the continued reduction of military personnel, revitalizing idle military sites is clearly a requirement, but the central government has a responsibility to provide oversight on local governments’ demands to requisition military land.
“The central government should not permit local governments to take land from the Ministry of National Defense whenever they wish; their overall development plans must be reviewed and all revitalization projects for military camps must be dedicated to public use, while those that appear to serve private needs or be for commercial gain should be rejected,” she said.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS