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"There is no shortage of soldiers, but there are ways to prevent you from being discharged early." According to Taiwanese media reports, the Taiwan Defense Department recently announced that it would remove two clauses that allow conscripts to apply for early discharge due to "the death of the family member who originally supported the family's livelihood and there are no other family members to support the family's livelihood" or "the family is listed as a low-income household or a low-middle-income household." This move has caused outsiders to question whether the Taiwan military isFacing a shortage of manpower。

Image source: China Times News

In response, the Taiwan military argued that this move was for the "principle of fairness in military service" and had nothing to do with the shortage of soldiers. The Taiwan military also cited a bunch of figures, saying that the Taiwan military's target for recruiting volunteers this year is 18,906 people. As of July 1, the stage plan is 8,266 people, and the stage recruitment is 8,623 people, "the achievement rate is 104.3%." Democratic Progressive Party "legislator" Lai Ruilong claimed that the shortage of soldiers is "rumor-mongering" and "don't try to undermine the morale of the army."

Some netizens sarcastically said:“No one wants to join the army, so why do we need to spread rumors?"Is the American father spreading rumors? Go and sue him!" Earlier, The Washington Post reported that the Taiwanese authorities tried to extend the compulsory military service and reform the training of reserve soldiers to strengthen national defense, butTaiwan's young people did not actively respond to the callAll men born after 2005 are required to serve for one year, but most choose to join the army after graduating from college. This batch of conscripts will not complete their training until 2027. The Taiwan Defense Department has also confirmed that the original plan for 9,127 conscripts to join the army this year was revised down to 6,936, accounting for only 6% of all conscripts of appropriate age. The Taiwan military originally planned to let conscripts learn to operate drones, Stinger missiles, and Red Falcon anti-armor rockets, but the plan was canceled due to insufficient numbers. Gu Lixiong, head of the Taiwan Defense Department, also admitted thatLack of equipment and manpower has slowed the professionalization of reservist training.。

Young Taiwanese are not very willing to join the military, so how did the Taiwan military boast that "more than 100% of the recruitment is voluntary"? The main reason is that the recruitment standards have changed.“Better to be excessive than to be inadequate”According to the newly implemented "Implementation Measures for the Selection and Training of Volunteer Soldiers", those with severe myopia of more than 600 degrees can join the army, and those with corrected vision of less than 0.6 can also join the army. With such a level of vision, they may not even be able to see the center of the bull's eye when shooting; in terms of soldier weight, a BMI coefficient of 16.5 to 32 is considered qualified, that is,Severely underweight and severely obese people can serve in the military。

Lin Yufang, a former KMT legislator, said bluntly, "Some people think that recruiting soldiers doesn't need to be too particular, because nowadays it's all technologically advanced, and missiles can be launched by pressing a button. So in what state can you press this button? These people need to go through a lot of training, and they should need higher-quality soldiers, but now they are recruiting soldiers with open doors.Can you believe the quality of officers and soldiers like this?？”

Anyone can join the army, and once you join you are not allowed to leave.Even if the Taiwan military resorts to all means and tries every possible means to increase its manpower, will it not be short of soldiers?? According to a written report sent by Taiwan's defense department to the legislature,The overall strength of the Taiwan military is decreasing year by year, from 89% in 2020 to 80% in 2023. When talking about whether Taiwan’s military preparation is reliable, former Taiwan Air Force Deputy Commander Zhang Yanting said that the actual current ratio of Taiwan’s main combat forces is only 70%, and some are even lower. He believes that the current ratio of forces must reach at least 85% to be reliable.

Regarding the shortage of soldiers, the general public on the island believes thatThis is closely related to the trend of declining birthrate in society., but it is very difficult to increase the birth rate in the short term. Therefore, some people are worried that the DPP authorities will extend the military service period to 2 years, extend the service period of active military personnel, and even require women to serve in the military.“Everyone is a soldier”。

"Other people's children will die anyway" and "Poor people have to serve in the army even if they starve to death." The "green elites" are trying to find ways to avoid serving in the army or to serve as alternative service. For example, former DPP legislator Lin Chang-tiao was exempted from military service due to anxiety disorder, and "Deputy Secretary-General of the National Security Council" Lin Fei-fan also served as alternative service (not serving regular military service in the army). Netizens want to ask,"Has the deadbeat son come back to serve in the army?"

Before the election, it was declared that "young people will not go to the battlefield"，Forcing “youth to go to the battlefield” after the electionThe DPP authorities recently released a trailer for "Zero Day Attack" with the so-called "Taiwan Strait War" as the background, hyping up the atmosphere of "resisting China and protecting Taiwan", discrediting the "military threat" of mainland China, and attempting to mobilize the Taiwanese people for war.Let Taiwan's civilian children serve as cannon fodder for "Taiwan independence"。

However, history and reality have fully proved that "Taiwan independence" is the biggest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.Kidnapping all people to go to the battlefield，His behavior is despicable and his heart is despicable。

Source: Voice of the Strait