The Ministry of National Defense is to refer obese members of the military for weight counseling after an internal report showed that thousands of soldiers are overweight, it said on Friday.
The Chinese-language United Daily News cited the ministry’s Medical Affairs Bureau as saying in a report that more than 10,000 service members had a body mass index (BMI) higher than 30.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, a BMI of 18.5 to 24 is ideal for Taiwanese adults, while a BMI of 30 to 34.9 indicates moderate obesity.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Wang Shin-lung (王信龍) told legislators that the
The Legislative Yuan yesterday began a three-week extra session to discuss two budget plans, constitutional reform and other bills that aim to address issues such as drunk driving and a proposed Hsinchu city and county merger.
The special session, which is to last through Jan. 28, began yesterday afternoon after it was pushed through by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on a 60-to-35 vote earlier that day.
The DPP also used its majority to pass its proposed agenda for the special session by a 57-39 margin, while rejecting other agendas submitted by the opposition parties.
The extra session was being held primarily
Cabinet amends punishments for servicemen who leak confidential data
04/29/2021 09:22 PM
CNA file photo for illustrative purposes
Taipei, April 29 (CNA) The Cabinet approved a draft amendment Thursday to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces that introduces punishments for serving members of the armed forces who divulge confidential information to a newly defined category of people.
Under the draft amendment the newly defined category includes foreign governments and nationals, citizens of Mainland China, residents of Hong Kong and Macau and or any middlemen sent on their behalf.
The new category is intended to complement existing law, which identifies the country s enemies as any country or organization that engages in or whose forces confront the Republic of China.
Military secrets proposal advances
ESCALATING PENALTIES: The premier urged lawmakers to back the proposed amendments, which would boost sentences for those found guilty of passing on secrets
By Lee Hsin-fang and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, staff writer, with CNA
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved draft amendments to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) that stipulates longer prison sentences for giving away military secrets in peacetime.
The Executive Yuan in a news release said that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) called on lawmakers to support the proposed changes, as Taiwan must better protect its military secrets.
Currently, the code stipulates that a service member who in peacetime betrays military secrets should be sentenced to three to 10 years in prison.
A new system requiring that all closed investigations on national security violations be forwarded to the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office is to take effect next month.
Hopefully it will give the prosecutorial system more efficient means to identify Chinese espionage and establish countermeasures, Chief High Prosecutor Hsing Tai-chao (邢泰釗) said.
Tai Wen-liang (戴文亮), executive secretary of the Prosecution of Severe National Security and Social Order Offenses Section, would lead efforts to review and analyze all offenses, seeking to link individuals, places, modi operandi and cash flow, Hsing said on Friday.
A lack of interdepartmental communication resulted in each agency focusing only on