A-list Actor Arrested and Investigated for Military Service Evasion
On February 18, China Times reported that Taiwanese police arrested actor Wang Talu and 10 others on suspicion of military service evasion. During the arrest, the actor was found to be calm and cooperative with the police. Authorities said the case is still under investigation, and the actor will be taken to the New Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office for questioning this afternoon.
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According to regulations, Taiwanese men between the ages of 18 and 40 must perform mandatory military service. Media reports said that Taiwan takes military service evasion very seriously. According to the law, those who commit fraud and fail to perform military service as prescribed will be fined, imprisoned for a maximum of less than 5 years, and have their social rights to work and study restricted.
A recent review of irregularities in military conscription assessments found about 80 cases involving “potential legal violations”, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.
Among them were conscripts with no prior medical problems who were “suddenly diagnosed with conditions affecting their eligibility”, the ministry said.
“Additionally, the ministry received reports from whistleblowers and local governments about attempts to evade conscription through illegal means,” it said.
The conscription age in Taiwan is 18, with deferment granted for higher education — though all men are required to serve in the military for one year by the time they turn 36.
Mandatory military service was extended from the previously obligatory period of four months, taking effect at the beginning of last year.
The review of suspicious assessments was conducted in late 2024 by a committee comprising the interior, defence and health ministries, along with “various medical associations”, the statement said.
Wang’s case was identified separately from the review, the ministry said.
All the cases have been handed over to the prosecutors’ office, the ministry said.
Wang, who rose to fame in Taiwan for his role in the 2015 teenage romantic comedy “Our Times”, was one of 10 people detained on Tuesday for allegedly evading military service, local broadcaster TVBS said.
He was also reportedly under investigation for the alleged forgery of a medical document.
The 33-year-old is hugely popular in South Korea and China where news of his questioning by police on Tuesday was the top trending topic on China’s X-like Weibo.
Wang previously told reporters that he intended to do his military service.
“There’s nothing to say, and I’m still so young, there’s no need to evade military service, when the time comes, I’ll serve the military,” Wang said, in 2015 footage aired by TVBS on Tuesday.
Under Taiwanese law, anyone found guilty of illegally evading conscription faces up to five years in prison.
