Ministry of National Defense Press Release

Time: December 17^th, 2018 At 10:20 am

In regard to the media coverage of “Republic of China Armed Forces Entering the “Comprehensive Recruitment” Era, the Last Echelon of Compulsory Soldiers Who Serve for 1 Year from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, Are Expected to Discharge Successively Before the 19^th of This Month, Which Declares the Termination of Compulsory Military Service System”, the Ministry of National Defense has stated today (17^th) that:

Article 20 of the Constitution of the Republic of China has stated that citizens are obligated to serve the military service, hence the military service system in Taiwan has adopted the “Dual System of Compulsory and Recruiting Military Service System”; servicemen who are born before (and include) 1993 and are currently serving the 1-year regular military service will be discharged on December 26^th 2018, and servicemen who are born after 1994 are still required to serve 4 months of regular military training, which is also categorized under compulsory military service system, hence the existing military service system remains to be the “Dual System of Compulsory and Recruiting Military Service System”. The Ministry of National Defense hereby clarifies that the media coverage regarding the Republic of China Armed Forces entering “Comprehensive Recruitment” and the “end of compulsory military service” is a misrepresentation