TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's defense authorities have intensified efforts to combat military service dodging, with a new wave of investigations implicating several high-profile celebrities. During Wednesday's (May 14) announcement, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) issued a stern warning that deliberate draft evaders would face prosecution. Koo highlighted the ministry's ongoing partnership with the Conscription Agency (役政司), a division under the Ministry of the Interior (MOI, 內政部), to identify and penalize violators.
Opposition legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) from the Kuomintang party (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's main opposition party, called for regulatory reforms to close loopholes in the conscription system. At the same briefing, Major General Tsai Chien-sung (蔡建松) from the military's Medical Affairs Bureau (MAB, 軍醫局) confirmed that officials have begun a thorough investigation into popular actor Darren Wang's (王大陸) exemption case. Tsai indicated that the review would lead to significant revisions of physical examination standards used to determine military service eligibility.
The investigation into Wang's case has prompted broader reforms within Taiwan's military conscription system. Officials announced plans to thoroughly overhaul physical examination protocols and reevaluate qualification standards for military exemptions. New regulations now demand comprehensive medical documentation, including detailed treatment histories, for those claiming exemption on health grounds. Particularly, individuals citing hereditary anemia must provide results from specialized blood electrophoresis or genetic testing. These changes follow earlier reforms from June 2023, when defense officials reinstated body mass index (BMI) standards from 2007 and expanded alternative service options. ◼
