Taiwan considers extending 4-month military conscription

By HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng says the government is considering extending its four-month compulsory military service amid concerns about the self-governing island democracy’s tensions with China, which have been underscored by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Chiu said Wednesday the government would not implement any changes immediately, but he vowed it would release the results of its internal research regardless of what it decides. Some in Taiwan have suggested the four-month compulsory military service should be longer. In recent years, China has stepped up its military harassment of the self-ruled island, which China claims as its own territory, sending fighter jets flying toward Taiwan on a near daily basis. Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949.