2023/02/28
The Ministry of National Defense issues a press release following media reports to clarify reports that "school protection regiments will assist military supplier production, in other words, manufacturing of weapons and ammunition"
Press release of the Ministry of National Defense
Time: February 28, 2023 at 12:10
In response to media reports that "school protection regiments will assist military
supplier production, in other words, manufacturing of weapons and ammunition",
the Ministry of National Defense (MND) clarified that weapons and ammunition are
produced in military factories in time of war according to the law, and does not fall
under the scope of school protection regiment services. The media reports are
therefore not true.
The MND stated that the Ministry of Education (MOE) plans and issues the School
Youth In-service Mobilization Plan based on the All-out Defense Mobilization and
Preparation Law and the Civil Defense Law for relevant youth mobilization during
war. Such plan is targeted at young people from vocational and professional
departments of each senior high school (such as medical care, disaster defense, and
others). These young people are grouped into services to develop disaster
prevention, relief, and assistance for civil defense, and mobilization, etc.
In addition, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Education has stipulated
the Group Education Drill and Service Regulations for School Protection Regiments
of Senior High Schools and Higher Educational Institutes, which clearly sets out the
scope of services by school protection regiments to include rescue, fire protection,
publicity, production, and traffic management. Among them, the task of assisting
with the production of military suppliers refers to those important materials in
Article 2 in The Implementation Measures for the Investigation of Critical Materials
and Fixed Facilities of the Ministry of Economic Affairs; they include 10 major
categories, including food. The category of "weapons and ammunition" is not
included.
The MND once again reiterates that the enactment of the All-out Defense
Mobilization and Preparation Law are necessary for democratic countries in
countering threats from a hostile country, so that national security and people's
survival can be safeguarded. The MND is working on the draft announcement of
legal enactment and is collecting opinions. It hopes that all parties can communicate
and discuss opinions with reason and fact based on the common goal of securing
national security, rather than disseminating misinformation that aims to confuse the
general public.