The petition has reached the threshold of 5,000 signatures, and the government is required to respond by Nov. 24.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/23
By: Olivia Yang

An online petition is seeking amendments to Taiwan’s Act of Military Service System that would include

“citizens that aren’t male” in the country’s compulsory military service.

The petition was launched on Sept. 13 and has since reached the threshold of 5,000 signatures. The government is required to respond by Nov. 24.

The petition says that “Article 1 of the Act of Military Service System reads ‘In accordance with the Law, the male citizens of the Republic of China are obligated to take military service,’” which, “clearly conflicts with” the principles of gender equality stipulated in the Constitution.

The Act says “the physical differences between males and females create different social roles for them,” to explain why the Act is not unconstitutional. However, the petition says that some females do meet the standards of physical condition for serving in the military.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/03
By: Lu Hsin-hui and Elaine Hou

Taipei, Sept. 3 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) praised soldiers for their contributions to

safeguarding the country and saluted them for their efforts Saturday, Taiwan’s Armed Forces Day.

On her personal Facebook page, the president posted a bitmap that represents soldiers in the three branches of the country’s military, along with the words: “I salute each of you, who are there to safeguard our country.”

Tsai also sent a message through instant messaging app LINE to thank them for their efforts. “We’re able to live safe, happy lives because of your sacrifices and efforts. Let us salute you wholeheartedly on the Sept. 3 Armed Forces Day,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, the president went to the Martyrs’ Shrine in Taipei to pay tribute to the soldiers and officers who have died for the Republic of China.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/08/29
By: Chang Che-fon and Kay Liu

Kaohsiung, Aug. 29 (CNA) The Navy’s mistaken launch of a missile that killed a fisherman on July 1 was caused by officer negligence, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office said Monday.

Prosecutors in Kaohsiung indicted three naval officers involved in the missile launch for negligence, citing their failure to follow protocol despite the training they had received on operating missile systems.

Kao Chia-chun (高嘉駿), a petty officer second class who fired a Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile from a 500-ton Jin Jiang-class corvette docked at a naval base in Kaohsiung ahead of a scheduled exercise, was indicted under the Criminal Code for negligence in causing death and injury while on duty.

He was also charged under the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces for causing the loss of a missile.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/08/23
By: Liao Jen-kai and Elaine Hou

Taipei, Aug. 23 (CNA) The military held an anti-landing drill in Taichung Tuesday, as part of this year’s Han Kuang series of military exercises to test Taiwan’s ability to counter various types of simulated attacks by China.

The drill, which took place at the Port of Taichung, also marked the first time that the National Airborne Service Corps joined the annual exercises, the military said.

In Tuesday’s simulation, the military had to fend off an opposing force that was seeking to land in Taichung and invade other parts of the island, the military said.

The military said it first dispatched AH-1W attack helicopters, then deployed CM-32 “Clouded Leopard” armored infantry fighting vehicles and M60A3 tanks against the “invading force.”

Later a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter flown by National Airborne Service Corps pilots and a CH-47SD helicopter operated by the Army pilots carried special forces soldiers to the target area to join the anti-landing drill, according to the military.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-08-22
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

As a venue of part of the annual Han Kuang military exercises, both ways of the section of the National Highway 5 from Shiding to Toucheng, including the Hsuehshan Tunnel, will be closed from midnight to 6 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau (TANFB) announced several days ago that the section of the National Highway 5 will be closed during the above-mentioned periods of time due to a Hsuehshan Tunnel accident prevention and rescue drill as well as the Han Kuang military exercises.

National Highway 5 bus operator Kamalan Bus Inc. has announced the suspension of buses after 11 p.m. on Monday and between midnight and 6 a.m. on both Tuesday and Wednesday, adding that those who had purchased tickets for the suspended buses can change the date or get a refund.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-08-16
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A Taiwanese female lieutenant was said to have hacked into a restricted access area without a permit and into a military computer network and classified intranet for up to six hours in April. The lieutenant’s misconduct was discovered right on the scene and was then demoted. Disclosed by local media on Tuesday, the breach drew a backlash from lawmakers, saying it has put national security at risk.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported Tuesday that a female lieutenant, surnamed Gu, broke into the Office of Telecommunication Development under the Ministry of National Defense (MND) this April to gain access to a military computer network at the outset for four hours and then moved on to use the classified intranet in the office in an attempt to obtain classified information with a USB storage drive for another two hours. Gu was caught at a checkpoint with the suspicious USB storage drive when an official performed a routine security check before allowing her to leave the building.      [FULL  STORY]

MILITARY MISHAP:The driver was able to escape the tank with minor injuries, but four men were trapped in the gun turret. The other survivor remains in a coma

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 17, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

An army CM-11 tank toppled into a creek in Pingtung County as it was returning to base

from a training exercise yesterday morning, killing three of the five soldiers onboard, the army said.

The tank fell off a bridge into the Wangsha River (網紗溪), landing upside down.

The army quoted the driver, Private First Class Yang Yen-lin (楊炎霖), as saying that the tank’s left track was stuck and the brake was not functioning, and the incident occurred as he was making an attempt to turn left to cross the bridge.

Yang sustained only minor injuries and pulled himself out of the tank. The four others, who were inside the gun turret, could not escape through the turret’s hatches because the tank was upside down, he said.    [FULL  STORY]