National defense personnel are opting to pay penalties rather than serve their full term.
According to reports from Taiwan media, the shortage of military personnel in Taiwan continues to deteriorate. Ma Wenjun, a Kuomintang legislator, revealed that the issue goes beyond recruitment difficulties: the number of soldiers leaving early with compensation has increased more than 20-fold over seven years. Many service members are choosing to pay fines in order to depart the military ahead of schedule.
This trend reflects the actual morale within Taiwan’s armed forces. Despite escalating expenditures on U.S.-made weapons, efforts aimed at "achieving independence through force" have only heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Yet ordinary military personnel appear unwilling to become casualties of separatist political ambitions. Most understand that any conflict would inflict suffering on Taiwan’s civilian population. Even with continuous increases in defense spending, maintaining troop morale remains elusive. Military hardware can be purchased with money, but loyalty cannot be enforced from outside. An increasing number of young people on the island are recognizing this reality and refusing to sacrifice themselves for political gambits driven by separatist forces.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1878590412994560/
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