Taiwan proposes amendments to strengthen mandatory military service system

Taiwan has proposed an amendment that would set a minimum one-year sentence for evading mandatory military service, in addition to increasing penalties for men who intentionally delay conscription until they age out of eligibility, media reports said Sunday.

The Interior Ministry said the proposal was prompted by recent high-profile cases involving entertainers accused of avoiding military service, Taipei-based Central News Agency reported.

Terming military service a constitutional obligation for eligible men, the ministry said recent cases involving conscripts overstaying visas abroad, deliberately injuring themselves or altering their physical condition to avoid service have drawn significant public attention.

The existing penalties, according to the ministry, have been insufficient to deter the behavior.

The amendments also aim to revise sentencing guidelines. Under current law, individuals who evade military service face prison terms of up to five years.

The ministry said, however, that many cases result in deferred prosecution, non-prosecution or prison sentences of six months or less that can be commuted to fines.

To strengthen deterrence and preserve fairness in military service obligations, the draft would change the penalty to imprisonment ranging from one to five years.