President Tsai Ing-wen announced on Tuesday that the mandatory military service will be extended from four months to one year. This comes after months of speculations on the timing of the changes. This shift will affect Taiwan's national security but also the lives of Taiwanese men born after January 1, 2005.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) announced on Tuesday that Taiwan's mandatory military service period will be extended from four months to one year starting in 2024. This change will apply to men born after January 1, 2005.
The new rules include a longer basic training period, lengthened from five to eight weeks. The monthly salary will see an increase from around NT$6,500 (around US$200) to just over NT$20,000 (US$660). The military is also devising a flexible conscription plan with Taiwan's universities and colleges. Students may be able to condense their college education down to three years and serve in the army for one year.
Tsai says this decision comes after two years of discussions and analyses. She says this was an extremely difficult decision, but that it is her responsibility as president to make it.
The decision received praise but also backlash from the public. One DPP legislator says the minister should host a forum to assure parents and students that the new conscription plan will be more effective and better managed than the current system.
A DPP candidate in an upcoming Taipei by-election says he supports the direction of the conscription system changes. Now all eyes are on how this new change will unfold and potentially affect the 2024 presidential election in Taiwan.