Substitute military service is key to the nation's transition from a compulsory to an all-volunteer military system, which will see basic training reduced to four months, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said today after being briefed by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on the status of the alternative service system.
Jiang asked the MOI and the Ministry of National Defense to work closely to implement the new system and plan the deployment of alternative service personnel. Proposals concerning alternative service by males born after January 1, 1994 must be fair and make efficient use of their manpower, Jiang added.
The substitute service system was launched in 2000 due to the need to downsize the military forces, allowing conscripts to work in government agencies while fulfilling their military duties. Substitute service consists mainly of caring for the socially disadvantaged, providing social welfare, law enforcement, firefighting, as well as serving the educational, medical and cultural needs of remote regions. In addition, the substitute service system operates without affecting domestic employment opportunities for other citizens. Their services to disadvantaged groups and public affairs have yielded encouraging results and drawn positive response from the public.
Substitute service also allows draftees to perform R&D work for industries, providing companies with talented, stable workers while honing the individual's professional skills. Jiang directed the MOI to make detailed plans to continue operating the system.
Under the substitute service program, draftees are assigned according to their skills to perform work in public affairs or other social services. Currently the system offers 15 specialty areas including judicial affairs, police affairs, medical care and education; the number of young men performing these services grew to 31,102 in 2013 from 4,792 in 2000. As for R&D substitute service, 20,547 conscripts have contributed to high-tech innovation in research institutions or enterprises since this option was made available in 2008.
The MOI said substitute service draftees are widely welcomed by the public and their places of service. They assist schools, tend to the injured, and serve society by caring for the elderly, veterans, indigenous communities, the disabled and children. Aside from preparing for the all-volunteer military system, the MOI will plan the optimal deployment of substitute service manpower, and help industries by creating an industrial training service category while expanding the scope of the R&D category.