Taiwan tightens military exemption rules, raising weight threshold to curb draft dodging

Taiwan has tightened its military service exemption rules to curb draft evasion and address troop shortages.

The South China Morning Post reported Monday that Taiwan had carried out a sweeping overhaul of its military exemption standards.

Under the revised rules, men must have a body mass index above 45 to qualify for a weight-based exemption. Previously, a BMI below 15 or above 35 was sufficient for exemption, but the underweight threshold has been abolished and the severe obesity standard raised significantly.

For a man standing 170 centimeters tall, the weight threshold for exemption has risen from 101.3 kilograms to 130.2 kilograms under the new rules.

Height requirements have also been tightened. Men who previously qualified for exemption if they stood 154 centimeters or shorter, or 196 centimeters or taller, can now only be exempted if they are 144 centimeters or shorter. Anyone 150 centimeters or taller is eligible for regular military service.

The criteria for hypertension-based exemptions have been tightened as well. A diagnosis of high blood pressure alone is no longer sufficient; a person must have moderate-to-severe hypertension accompanied by organ damage, and must undergo in-hospital observation and 24-hour continuous blood pressure monitoring.

The outlet said the change came in the wake of draft evasion cases involving Taiwanese entertainers, making it significantly harder to obtain an exemption on the basis of a hypertension diagnosis alone.

Taiwanese authorities expect the overhaul to cut the exemption rate among draft-age men from 16 percent to 8 percent, adding thousands of conscripts each year.