00:00A scandal involving Taiwan's mandatory military service is topping local
00:05headlines. Authorities are looking into dozens of suspected cases of using
00:09falsified medical information to evade conscription, a serious offense that
00:13carries harsh penalties, including prison time. It comes as several celebrities are
00:18already in the spotlight after getting caught dodging their service.
00:20It's a serious issue for the
00:29government, which has been pushing to boost Taiwan's defenses in the face of
00:33increasing military threats from China. Part of those efforts has been extending
00:37the length of conscription from the previous four months to one year under
00:41former President Tsai Ing-wen. On Wednesday, Interior Minister Liu Shifang said the
00:48government would start tackling this by tightening up rules for skipping out on
00:51service. She said the exemption rate for conscripts in 2023 reached 16%, much
00:57higher than in South Korea and Singapore, where exemptions only account for around
01:015%. And the reasons people gave for being unfit for duty also do not match
01:06Taiwan's national health insurance data. She said the government would go easy on
01:10people who admitted to faking their way out of conscription.
01:13National Defense Minister Wellington Ku said his ministry would also move to strengthen guidelines and testing practices to avoid similar cases in the future.
01:20National Defense Minister Wellington Ku said his ministry would also move to
01:35strengthen guidelines and testing practices to avoid similar cases in the future.
01:39The government says the recent suspected draft dodging cases took place before testing methods were improved, but it says the defense
01:43has moved to strengthen guidelines and testing practices to avoid similar cases in the future.
01:47National Defense Minister Wellington Ku said his ministry is working with all branches of the armed forces and medical professionals to create stricter standards with new regulations expected for next April.
01:59The government says the recent suspected draft dodging cases took place before testing methods were improved, but it says the defense ministry is working with all branches of the armed forces and medical professionals to create stricter standards with new regulations expected for next April.
02:13Patrick Chen and Larry Siano for Taiwan Plus.
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