Taiwan Military Culture Reform Has Stalled, Analysts Warn — SkimNews
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- Michael Hunzeker and Yuster Yu wrote in a 2025 War on the Rocks piece that Taiwan needed sweeping cultural changes in both its officer corps and broader society to be competitive in a China contingency
- Taiwan's armed forces have shown no major cultural shift in the 18 months since, the analysts told War on the Rocks, adding that they would be skeptical of any sudden transformation given how long organizational reform takes
- The Lai administration does not appear to be seriously addressing the cultural challenge, despite having been given a set of practical first steps to act on
- Taiwan's military runs roughly one general or admiral per 500 troops — more than twice the US ratio — a leadership bloat the analysts specifically recommended trimming
- Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense has a habit of declaring it has embraced new ways of doing business in response to American criticism rather than undertaking genuine reform, according to the analysts
Why it matters: Taiwan fields a fraction of China's forces, making cultural and structural efficiency decisive in any contingency. With Taiwan carrying more than twice the US ratio of generals per service member and reform authors now seeing zero traction under the Lai administration, the window for the kind of years-long organizational change they prescribe is closing without action.
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