Career planning and family factors are among the four main reasons cited by volunteer soldiers in applications to be ruled “unfit for service,” the Ministry of National Defense said.
Some of Taiwan’s combat units have fallen below 80 percent of staff as early retirements and discharges increase within the ranks.
The most cited reason was career planning, followed by difficulty adapting to military life, family issues, and health or injury, the ministry said in a report to the Legislative Yuan.
Photo: CNA
As the armed forces have a wide range of responsibilities, from defense to disaster relief, more personnel are not renewing their contracts, the report said.
From January to October last year, 4,172 officers and soldiers were discharged for being unfit, it said.
Career planning accounted for 52.2 percent of early discharges, as applicants cited a diversity of job choices, the possibility of better salaries and more freedom as reasons for leaving, it said.
Meanwhile, difficulty in adapting to military life accounted for 27.1 percent, it said.
Some people who enter the military directly after graduating might find it difficult to adapt to the routine, such as night sentry duty or being unable to take expected vacation time, which makes them prone to more stress, the report said.
Family factors accounted for 16.9 percent of the total, with respondents citing issues such as raising children, caring for elderly family members or managing a family business, the report said.
It said that 3.3 percent cited health problems, while “other reasons,” such as a mismatch in expectations, accounted for 0.5 percent.
The retention rate of military personnel last year was 78 percent for officers and 74 percent among enlisted personnel, the ministry said.
Officers, due to higher salaries and having undergone comprehensive training, usually have lower attrition rates compared with enlisted personnel, it added.
A rise in private-sector wages due to a shortage of workers has also lowered willingness among members of the public to volunteer for military service, the ministry said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS