《TAIPEI TIMES》 Extend military service, recruit more women: NPP

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

The Ministry of National Defense should extend the mandatory military service to one year and recruit more women to enhance Taiwan’s defense, the New Power Party （NPP） caucus said yesterday.

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The party made the remarks in response to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s （習近平） address at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party （CCP） on Sunday, when he said that China would never renounce the use of force to “reunify” Taiwan.

“The harassment and threats from the Chinese military, as evidenced in the unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan in August, only unites Taiwanese and reinforces our determination to defend ourselves,” NPP caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih （邱顯智） said.

Lawmakers across party lines agree that Taiwan’s national defense capabilities should be bolstered, he added.

Apart from building warships and increasing the defense budget, the ministry needs to conduct comprehensive military reform by eliminating useless training, providing quality gear to military personnel and using artificial intelligence systems to gather intelligence and conduct information warfare against China, Chiu said.

“The Ministry of National Defense should finalize a policy to extend mandatory military service as soon as possible, and have more women serve in different military-related capacities. This would enhance Taiwan’s defense abilities,” he said.

NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua （陳椒華） said that Xi simply “played the same old tune” in his speech by mixing sentiments of Chinese nationalism and anti-democratic rhetoric.

“Xi’s reiteration of peaceful reunification with Taiwan, the ‘one country, two systems’ framework, and not renouncing the use of force showed that he is a nationalist and authoritarian, who would persecute Taiwanese the same way he did Hong Kongers and Uighurs,” Chen said.

“Freedom, democracy and human rights are unwavering principles and explain the fundamental differences between Taiwan and China. The interactions between two countries can only proceed on democratic and equal terms,” she said.

Regarding the Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） sending a telegram to congratulate the CCP on its national congress, Chen said that political parties in Taiwan should form a united front when dealing with China.

“Despite the competitive elections and divisive politics, all political parties in Taiwan should support freedom and democracy,” Chen said.

Citing a report from Reuters, NPP Legislator Claire Wang （王婉諭） said that Xi used the word “security” 89 times in his address, far exceeding his other addresses in the past.

“To Xi, maintaining the stability of the CCP-led government is far more important than upholding the universal values of human rights and freedom,” Wang said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES