Taiwan Moves to Jail Draft Dodgers for Minimum 1 Year

(MENAFN) Taiwan has put forward a legislative amendment that would impose a minimum one-year prison sentence on individuals who evade mandatory military service, while also stiffening penalties for men who deliberately delay conscription until they age out of eligibility, media reports revealed on Sunday.

The Interior Ministry said the proposed changes were triggered by a string of high-profile cases involving entertainers accused of shirking their military obligations, as reported by a Taipei-based a news agency.

Describing military service as a constitutional duty for eligible men, the ministry pointed to growing public concern over cases where conscripts overstayed visas abroad, intentionally harmed themselves, or manipulated their physical condition to sidestep service.

Current penalties, the ministry acknowledged, have proven too weak to effectively discourage such conduct.

The proposed amendments would also overhaul existing sentencing frameworks. Under present law, draft evaders face up to five years behind bars — yet the ministry noted that a significant number of cases end in deferred prosecution, non-prosecution, or sentences of six months or less that are ultimately commuted to fines.

To close that loophole and uphold equity in national service obligations, the draft legislation would replace the current framework with a mandatory sentencing range of one to five years imprisonment.

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