“Gained weight to 102 kg to avoid military service” ... “You have to enlist”: A rude shock as ‘this country’ changes its exemption rules

[Financial News] Taiwan has significantly tightened its military-service exemption criteria to prevent draft evasion and secure enough personnel. The aim is to increase the number of people subject to conscription by revising exemption requirements for health reasons, including height, weight and hypertension.
On the 2nd, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Taiwan had recently overhauled its military-service exemption rules to prevent draft evasion and address manpower shortages. A series of draft-evasion controversies and concerns about a shrinking pool of military personnel due to low birth rates are cited as reasons for the changes.
Under the revised rules, men must have a body mass index (BMI) above 45 to qualify for exemption on weight grounds. Previously, men with a BMI below 15 or at least 35 were eligible for exemption, but the underweight threshold has been abolished and the threshold for severe obesity raised.
For a man who is 170 cm tall, the weight threshold for exemption has been raised from at least 101.3 kg to at least 130.2 kg.
The height criteria have also been tightened. Previously, men who were 154 cm or shorter or 196 cm or taller could qualify for exemption, but under the revised rules, only those who are 144 cm or shorter are eligible. Men who are at least 150 cm tall qualify for regular military service.
The criteria for exemption on grounds of hypertension have also been tightened. Following draft-evasion cases involving Taiwanese entertainers, a hypertension diagnosis alone is no longer enough to qualify for exemption. Going forward, only patients with moderate or more severe hypertension accompanied by organ damage may be exempt, and they must also undergo inpatient observation and continuous blood pressure monitoring for 24 hours.
Even people with a history of treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis must be shown to have at least a mild reduction in lung function to qualify for exemption.
Meanwhile, the number of people eligible for conscription in Taiwan fell below 100,000 in 2023 and is projected to fall short of 80,000 next year. Taiwanese authorities expect the overhaul to cut the military-service exemption rate among men of conscription age in half, from 16% to 8%, and enable them to secure several thousand additional personnel each year.
[email protected] An Ga-eul Reporter