Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is under suspicion of deliberately avoiding compulsory military service. Since this incident was exposed, nationwide attention has been placed on how the military service system can be reformed to prevent subsequent abuses.
With the return last year to one year of compulsory military service, instances of evasion — like Wang’s case — might become more widespread. Authorities should bolster investigations and impose stricter legal penalties to ensure fairness and equality in the military service system, thereby cultivating the mindset that everyone is responsible for protecting the nation and its citizens.
The practice of falsifying documents to evade military service is not a new issue. When I enlisted in 1982, I heard all about the methods being used at the time, such as deliberately gaining weight to meet the threshold for exemption or pretending to have severe myopia. Some people even spent large sums of money to purchase fake medical records, pretending to be mentally ill or severely injured to be exempted from service.
These actions undermine the very principle of fairness, encourage unhealthy trends and affect the overall combat readiness of the military — they create an unfair “one country, two systems” phenomenon in the military service system.
That being said, there are still those who choose to serve despite being eligible for exemption. During my time training at a military academy in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), I recall a fellow soldier who weighed more than 100kg and could have been exempted, but he resolutely reported for duty. During every drill, our superiors would tease him, saying things like: “Others would run away if they could, but you just threw yourself right into the trap.” However, that soldier stood firm in his principles and saw military service as his civic duty, which was truly admirable.
The Constitution stipulates that paying taxes, completing mandatory military service and receiving compulsory national education are all duties that citizens must fulfill. Authorities should therefore regularly review the standards for military exemptions, gradually raise the thresholds, and strictly investigate and crack down on illegal activities such as the falsification of medical records. They must also establish a more comprehensive mechanism for the organization of conscripts to ensure fairness in the military service system.
Tsai Jr-keng is a retired elementary-school principal.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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