Taiwan’s defense ministry says that most positions in the military are open to women. The comment from a military spokesman on Friday followed on the heels of a similar announcement from the US military.
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Thursday (local time) that the US army was opening up all positions to women. That ended a centuries-old tradition which until Thursday had reserved at least some positions for only men.
A defense ministry spokesman in Taiwan, David Lo, spoke with the state-run Central News Agency on Friday about positions that are open to women. He said the positions range from combat roles in the air force, navy and army, to support positions in artillery, radio communications, and logistics.
Lo said that women have shown outstanding performance in physical tests and on the job. He said that many women had also been promoted to supervisory positions in Taiwan’s military.