Military Gears Up To Train New Intake of One-Year Conscripts
A key part of Taiwan's war readiness plans begins next week, when the country's young men will enter a full year of compulsory military service rather than the previous four months.
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00:00 Taiwan's military is rolling out its new conscription program. From next week, young Taiwanese men
00:05 joining mandatory military service will train from one year up from the current four months.
00:11 It's all part of Taiwan's big defense reforms, designed to counter China's increasing pressure
00:16 on the nation that it claims as its own.
00:19 "The current set of measures are all complete.
00:24 The goal is to improve the overall military strength and strengthen our national defense."
00:31 New recruits will learn how to handle rifles, machine guns and grenades,
00:35 with a US$300 bonus for successfully completing this training.
00:39 The new mandatory military service program is part of a raft of measures designed to counter
00:45 China, which include boosting defense spending and developing Taiwan's domestic weapons
00:51 manufacturing industry. The message from Taiwan's government is clear, it will take an
00:55 all-country effort to keep Taiwan free.
00:58 Leon Lien, Sam Hui and Rick Lowatt for Taiwan Plus.