The government is to assess whether the military conscription period needs to be lengthened to bolster Taiwan’s defense capabilities, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said yesterday.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) on Monday told lawmakers that the measure could be vital to the nation’s ability to deal with existential threats.
Ukraine’s resistance against Russian aggression has been an inspiration to Taiwanese and a reminder that the nation’s survival is predicated on the will to defend it, Lo told a news conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting in Taipei.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The government’s focus is to augment the military reserve by creating mobilization plans and reservist training programs via the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency, which was activated in January, he said.
However, the government acknowledges that there is a consensus among Taiwanese to extend military conscription and re-evaluate Taiwan’s military system, he said.
The support for conscription is evidence that Taiwanese are united in their resolve to defend the nation’s democracy, he said, adding that the government would proceed with this in mind.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of National Defense would examine the viability of proposals to extend military service, he said.
Separately yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee asked Deputy Minister of National Defense Bo Hong-hui (柏鴻輝) when his ministry could be expected to make a decision on lengthening conscription.
A decision to change the terms of military conscription must originate from the whole of government and the defense ministry is not prepared to discuss the issue of its own volition, Bo said.
The assessment should not take more than a year, he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liao Wan-ju (廖婉汝) and DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) told defense officials at the meeting that a civil defense pamphlet issued by the defense ministry is too brief and has unrealistic instructions.
Instruction to scan QR codes to get information about air raid shelters is questionable, as cell towers and Internet services are likely be targeted in a war, Liao said.
The defense ministry’s pamphlet contains virtually no practical advice for people to survive a war, whereas a Latvian civil defense booklet has 15 pages of useful material, Lin said.
The first edition of the defense ministry’s pamphlet was published to establish first principles, Bo said, adding that no specific instructions can be published before it discusses and tests ideas with local governments.
The annual Wan An air raid drill this year would provide one occasion for the government to gain a clearer picture about what civil defense strategies would be effective, he said.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
RSS