TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan will extend the requirement for its mandatory military service from four months to one year starting 2024.
According to Julian Kuo, a former legislator, "we have no other choice. I think Taiwan has to show your will to defend yourself, or otherwise, the United States won't be persuaded. If you don't defend yourself more, and put more effort into that, how can you persuade the United States to support you?”
Asked whether this move would sway young voters' decisions in the 2024 Presidential Elections, Kuo remarked that "you need to persuade the young people to accept that, it is a necessary policy in Taiwan."
"Under the U.S Provincial Assessment, they say that Taiwan is not equipped enough to defend itself, especially regarding the standing army," he said, adding that Taiwan needs to show its commitment to self-defense to the United States.