DEFENSE/Taiwan's military relaxes rules on height, tattoos

Taipei, Feb. 12 (CNA) A senior Taiwanese military official in charge of recruitment said Wednesday that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has relaxed height and tattoo restrictions to boost recruitment.

Colonel Huang Ming-chun (黃銘君) of the MND's deputy chief of general staff office in charge of personnel, told reporters that the military is now scrapping the maximum height limit of 200 centimeters for men and women.

In addition, the minimum height requirement for men has been reduced from 152 cm to 150 cm, making it the same as that for women, Huang said at a regular MND news briefing in Taipei.

Meanwhile, the rules on tattoos for the National Security Bureau, Army Amphibious Reconnaissance units, the Military Police, military marching bands, and the Political Warfare Bureau have also been relaxed, Huang said.

All tattoos are now permitted, provided they are not visible on the face, neck or palms, and do not contain offensive language, images, or references to organized crime gangs.

Huang said that the MND is also allowing former volunteer soldiers who previously voluntarily left the armed forces for personal reasons to reapply to join the military as long as they left the voluntary service for a year or longer.

These changes are being made to boost recruitment and retain talent, Huang said.

According to an MND report to lawmakers, the volunteer soldier numbers in Taiwan's military dropped to 152,885 as of June 2024 from 164,884 in 2021.

The MND has attributed the relatively low recruitment and retention rates to the low birthrate in Taiwan.

The MND said it would increase incentives, including offering better pay and benefits, to reverse the trend.