Reserve Officers' Training Corps () in the Republic of China (Taiwan) was first proposed by the

Ministry of National Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

for the

ROC Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC), Republic of China (1912–1949), once based in mainland China and currently in its Free area of the Republic of China, remainin ...

in September 1995 and has been in operation since 1997 or 1999. Other sources mention that an ROTC program was already active in Taiwan in the 1960s. ROTC in Taiwan is based on the counterpart program of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

. The proposed training regimen consisted of three to four additional hours of military courses each week aside from university classes. During the winter vacation, students were to attend a one or two-week

boot camp Boot camp may refer to: Training programs * Boot camp (correctional), a type of correctional facility for adolescents, especially in the U.S. penal system * Boot camp, a training camp for learning various types of skills ** Dev bootcamp, a de ...

and in the summer, they would undergo six weeks of military training.

Benefits and obligation

The Ministry of National Defense provides three years of financial aid for the students' university studies, as well as stipends. Graduates of the ROTC program are given the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

; they then proceed with specialized military training. ROTC graduates are required to serve in the military for four years, after which they are free to rejoin civilian life. They may also elect to remain in the military as career officers.

Other developments

As of 2001, the Taiwan ROTC program was only available for college students aiming to join the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. By 2009, the Ministry of Education has reduced the number of ROTC courses at National Taiwan University, considering the program a symbol of

autocracy Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...

. Despite this, the ROTC program remains popular among Taiwanese college students.

References

{{Reflist Military education and training in Taiwan

Benefits and obligation

Other developments

See also

References