The military is to form a new reserve mobilization agency while expanding the scope of civilian forces that can be mobilized as part of its efforts to bolster the nation’s reserve forces amid increasing threats from China, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The ministry made the announcement in a report it sent to lawmakers for review.
The ministry would integrate two existing military agencies — the All-out Defense Mobilization Office and the Armed Forces Reserve Command — into a “defense reserve mobilization agency” by January next year, the report said.
Photo: Tu Chu-min, Taipei Times
The structural change is part of a military reform to make Taiwan’s reserve forces a more reliable backup for regular soldiers in defending the nation, it said.
Chu Sen-tsuen (朱森村) of the All-out Defense Mobilization Office said the military is also working with the Ministry of the Interior in the hope of amending the Civilian Defense Act (民防法) to expand the scope of civilian forces and volunteers the military can call upon during peacetime and war.
The act forms the legal basis for the defense ministry to mobilize civilian forces.
It defines volunteers the defense ministry can mobilize in case of need as volunteer police officers and volunteer firefighters.
The defense ministry hopes the scope can be expanded to include volunteer workers at Buddhist and Taoist temples, as well as churches, to give the military access to extra personnel, Chu said.
Temple and church volunteers have for decades played an important role in offering post-disaster relief, including preparing food and shelter after major natural disasters or emergencies, Chu added.
The defense ministry in February said that starting next year, it would introduce new rules governing the call-up of reservists to improve their combat readiness.
Under the new policy, reservists would undergo two weeks of training rather than the current five to seven days, and could be called up every year instead of the current once every two years.
The new policy is to begin as a limited trial from next year to 2023 before full-scale implementation in 2024.
The military has also extended the period during which reservists can be called up from four times in eight years after being discharged from military service to four times in 12 years, starting this year.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS