[Source/Observer Network, Wang Shih-ping] In order to retain combat troops, the Taiwanese military is giving raises to "combat personnel" who need to be on the front lines, but this has resulted in a strange phenomenon of salary inversion. According to reports by Taiwan media on April 7th, in order to solve the shortage of volunteer force manpower, Tsai Ing-wen recently announced a pay increase of up to 12,000 new Taiwan dollars per month (approximately 2650 RMB), which made many grassroots soldiers happy, but caused the strange phenomena of "officer salaries being lower than their subordinates" and "promotion equals pay cut." Experts pointed out that this system may lead to lieutenants deliberately not advancing; while relatively civilian officers such as colonels and staff officers are even more dissatisfied.
In order to increase the number of fighters for "resisting unification with military force," the focus of this round of pay increases by Tsai Ing-wen was on "combat unit allowance." Units recognized as combat units by the Taiwan Defense Department will have their subsidies increased from 5,000 to 12,000 New Taiwan dollars per month; support units will have their subsidies increased from 3,000 to 7,000 New Taiwan dollars. The "volunteer service allowance" for all volunteer service personnel only increased by 5,000 New Taiwan dollars, while colonels and higher-ranking officers had theirs reduced to 4,000 New Taiwan dollars, and generals received 3,000 New Taiwan dollars.
Taiwanese military social media
The new policy has sparked heated discussions within the Taiwanese military. Some warn of the situation where lieutenants may refuse to advance to captains. Lieutenants can only serve as platoon leaders or deputy company commanders, both of which come with combat unit allowances and main officer allowances, totaling over 16,000 New Taiwan dollars. Advancing to captain might involve being transferred to battalion or brigade staff, losing both allowances, and after deducting the increase in rank-based salary, it amounts to a pay cut of 12,000 New Taiwan dollars.
Officials pointed out that the workload for staff officers is heavy, and in the future, the salary of captains serving as operational officers may be lower than that of lieutenant platoon leaders, and could even approach that of senior sergeants, who hold positions in the battalion headquarters and receive second-level allowances. There are already lieutenants using physical fitness tests as an excuse to resist promotion, and this trend is likely to worsen in the future.
Former legislator Wu Si-huai, who previously served as the Army Deputy Commander, said that the military is a hierarchical system emphasizing rank, and generally, higher-ranking individuals should receive better treatment to facilitate leadership. In practice, the importance and hardship of operational officers or logistics officers are no less than that of battalion commanders of the same rank. Valuing the grassroots and combat units is correct, but it should not be done by cutting off at the battalion/company level. The Taiwanese military should emulate the U.S. military and Singaporean armed forces by establishing specialized allowances to encourage officers and soldiers to improve their professional skills.
Chieh Chung, a part-time assistant professor at Tamkang University's Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, said that providing the same amount of money to all operational unit volunteers, regardless of branch, rank, or position, would solve the aforementioned side effects. Future operations will adjust toward modularization, forming task forces or combat groups by drawing personnel and equipment from various branches based on mission requirements. In this trend, the distinction between first-class and second-class operational personnel becomes meaningless.
Chieh Chung pointed out that the flawed regulations were primarily due to insufficient budget. Now that Tsai Ing-wen has promised to increase the defense budget to 3% of GDP, indicating that next year's budget will increase by nearly 160 billion New Taiwan dollars compared to this year, it is sufficient to address the adjustments needed for the system.
The Taiwan Defense Department claimed that in recent years, the military's readiness tasks have become more demanding, and influenced by competition for talent from enterprises and declining birth rates, the willingness of young people in society to join the military has decreased, impacting the military's combat capability. Recently, Wang Hongwei, the secretary-general of the Kuomintang Party caucus in the Taiwan Legislative Yuan, stated that the recruitment of volunteer service personnel in Taiwan is currently difficult, with a staffing ratio of only 78%, far below the so-called normal defense requirement of 85%.
In January this year, the number of non-commissioned officers choosing to leave early with compensation increased from 401 people in 2020 to 1,565 people last year, increasing fourfold. According to the Taiwan Legislative Yuan Budget Center, the number of volunteer service personnel dropped to 150,000 by the end of June last year, the lowest since 2018. According to the 2025 defense budget book, among the "budgeted personnel reductions" in 2025, most of them are non-commissioned officers, corporals, and privates who are the backbone of the grassroots units. Most of these personnel leaving early with compensation serve in frontline combat units.
This article is an exclusive piece from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7490455875337880127/
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