President Tsai Ing-wen has urged leaders of the country’s armed forces to embrace reform to restore the military’s reputation and image.
Tsai was speaking on Thursday as she oversaw the promotion of 37 new generals. She urged the new generals to recall their experiences as junior officers and consider how the culture of the armed forces could be improved.
The president said, "I remind everyone that in a new era we must have new ways to contribute to the nation. We want to keep an open mindset, welcome criticism, think about how to innovate so we can step by step rebuild the dignity of the military."
The defense minister, Feng Shih-kuan, also highlighted a number of areas in which the military could improve. These included simplifying procedures, cutting back on overtime and raising efficiency.
The reputation of the military has taken a knock in recent years despite attempts to boost recruitment and phase out conscription. Two years ago, an attempted cover-up concerning the death of a conscript prompted large-scale protests against a culture of bullying in the armed forces.