After it was announced that Taiwan’s mandatory military service would go back to one year, many have been asking if conscription would also be extended to include females.
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Taiwanese women may join their male counterparts as military reservists starting next year. That’s according to a recent statement from Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正). The statement follows the major announcement earlier this week that mandatory military service for males will be extended from four months to one year starting in 2024. Chiu says he expects that small-scale trials for a female reservist program will begin next year.
All male Taiwanese citizens are required to serve mandatory military service, but currently this does not apply to women. The Taiwanese military only allowed female volunteers to join starting in 2006. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) recently said that the issue of female conscription should be addressed slowly step-by-step.
The issue was also raised at a ceremony in Hsinchu. Newly elected Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) attended a ceremony to welcome new local military recruits. When asked about the issue, Kao said she supported the trials, but that any final policy decisions should not be taken suddenly, to prevent disrupting families and society.