The recent death of a conscript may not be enough to show the unpopular Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou an early exit but the growing rage and distrust against the government and the military may further cripple the island?s already weakening defense capability.
Last Saturday, more than 30,000 people marched in the streets of Taipei protesting against the Ministry of National Defense over a 24-year-old army conscript Hung Chung-chiu who died on July 4. Mr. Hung died after being ordered to perform excessive physical activity as punishment for what his family said was an attempt by his superiors to prevent the corporal from going public on allegedly questionable behavior in his unit. Another massive demonstration is set for next weekend.
Mr. Hung died 72 hours before his scheduled discharge. He had planned to resume his graduate study at National Chengkung University upon completion of his military obligation, his family said.
Suspicion surrounding Hung?s treatment before his death stirred up anger against the government, but it was the MND?s subsequent inability to provide answers, such as disclosing missing footage of a surveillance camera where Mr. Hung was ordered to perform strenuous exercise before losing consciousness, that really infuriated the public.
Although President Ma apologized for the death and vowed to mete out ?severe? punishment for the officers involved, Mr. Hung?s family has rejected the MND?s offer of a NT$100 million compensation and demanded an swift independent probe conducted by a third party.
The death could not have come at a worse time for the Taiwan military, which is already struggling to meet the recruitment quota for the new draft system, as the government has planned to end the compulsory service requirement by end of 2014 .
The ministry?s recruitment target for 2013 is 17,447 people, but as of July 3, only 1,847 signed up and 538 are female.
?The Hung incident is deterring more people from signing up and those who do volunteer, may not be the brightest and most qualified or upstanding to serve,? said Wang Kun-yi, adjunct professor at the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, expressing concerns that the ?hooligan? culture in the Taiwan armed forces may get worse.
In the past, said Mr. Wang, most Taiwanese men and families felt serving in the military was an honorable task because the threats from China seemed real and imminent at the time.
However, the ongoing cross-strait detente, combined with the U.S.?s repeated pledge to help maintain peace in the region, the mandatory service program has come to be considered more of a nuisance by many young Taiwanese men who would rather spend 12 months furthering their studies or honing a marketable skill, he added.
Another challenge faced by Taiwan?s military is the island?s ultra-low birth rate in face of an accelerated aging population. The interior ministry estimates, by 2051, Taiwan?s above-65 group will rise to 37% of the total population, from 11.2% as of the end of 2012.
Taiwan and China had a longstanding tension after the two split amid a 1949 civil war. Although trade links between the two have boomed in recent years, Beijing stands by its intention to reclaim the democratic self-governed island, by force if necessary.
?There are increasing concerns about whether Taiwan?s military is hollowing out with problems in recruitment and retention in trying to shift from conscripts to volunteer personnel by 2015 without sufficient resources and commitment by the leadership,? wrote Shirley Kan, specialist in Asian securities affairs in a Congressional Research Service report released July 23 this year.
A 2011 report by MND states the Chinese People?s Liberation Army has roughly 10 times the number of troops as Taiwan?s armed forces with an ?absolute advantage in terms of ballistic missiles and submarines.?
In addition to the difference in manpower, the military budgets of both governments are also greatly imbalanced.
The MND report said the 2010 defense budget of China was roughly US$78 billion, compared with Taiwan?s US$9 billion.
?Yet, the People?s Republic of China?s actual military funding is somewhere between two to three times the figure it has disclosed. Therefore, the actual difference in defense budget on the both sides may reach up to 21-fold,? the report stated.
According to the revised total budget for 2013, ?the budget for MND is NT$314.50 billion?or US$10.52 billion?0.9% down from the previous year.
?I will join the military because it is hard to find a good job now the economy is so bad,? said Hu Chien-kang, a college student in Taichung, who plans to sign up for the air force after he graduates in two years.
?But is my true intention to defend my country? Not really!? he said.
??Jenny W. Hsu
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