I’m not sure about it being equivalent to a boy scout camp, but there are some historical reasons why the Taiwan military has relatively low morale.
The main one is that the military has strong historical ties to the Chinese Nationalist Party aka the Kuomintang (KMT) that previously ruled China and then Taiwan as the Republic of China (ROC). Taiwan is still officially the ROC, and the military forces are still technically called the “Republic of China Armed Forces” and such. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek basically ran these forces as his personal army, or at least, the army of the KMT party (similar to how the PLA is the army of the CCP). As such, the leadership of the Taiwan military is often considered very pro-KMT, and have close ties with the party.
Given that the current government of Taiwan is the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the KMT are in opposition, this puts the generals who feel loyal to the KMT and the Chinese nationalism they stand for, in an awkward position. The DPP has apparently tried to purge some of these generals, but the historical ties would make this difficult to achieve completely.
Also, unlike Ukraine, where people speak Ukrainian, which is distinct from Russian, the people of Taiwan speak a mix of Mandarin and Taiwanese (a Chinese dialect), which in particular, makes them arguably more vulnerable to Mainland Chinese propaganda, as well as infiltration by Chinese spies.
I remember hearing from my dad who served in the ROC army some time around the 1970s that conscription used to be two years of service. According to Wikipedia this got reduced because they were trying to switch to an all-volunteer force in the 2010s and only restored due to fears that an invasion was becoming imminent recently.
I’m not sure about it being equivalent to a boy scout camp, but there are some historical reasons why the Taiwan military has relatively low morale.
The main one is that the military has strong historical ties to the Chinese Nationalist Party aka the Kuomintang (KMT) that previously ruled China and then Taiwan as the Republic of China (ROC). Taiwan is still officially the ROC, and the military forces are still technically called the “Republic of China Armed Forces” and such. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek basically ran these forces as his personal army, or at least, the army of the KMT party (similar to how the PLA is the army of the CCP). As such, the leadership of the Taiwan military is often considered very pro-KMT, and have close ties with the party.
Given that the current government of Taiwan is the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the KMT are in opposition, this puts the generals who feel loyal to the KMT and the Chinese nationalism they stand for, in an awkward position. The DPP has apparently tried to purge some of these generals, but the historical ties would make this difficult to achieve completely.
The KMT today is probably friendlier to the CCP than they are to the DPP, to the point that a retired general previously encouraged reunification with the mainland and the overthrow of the DPP government. This kind of “fifth column” behaviour is unique to the historical circumstances of Taiwan, and probably contributes greatly to low morale within the armed forces.
Also, unlike Ukraine, where people speak Ukrainian, which is distinct from Russian, the people of Taiwan speak a mix of Mandarin and Taiwanese (a Chinese dialect), which in particular, makes them arguably more vulnerable to Mainland Chinese propaganda, as well as infiltration by Chinese spies.
This is a good answer and gives a lot of important context, thanks Joseph.
Regarding the conscription, I tried but failed to get a sense if it got more serious since they went from 4 months to a full year of service.
I remember hearing from my dad who served in the ROC army some time around the 1970s that conscription used to be two years of service. According to Wikipedia this got reduced because they were trying to switch to an all-volunteer force in the 2010s and only restored due to fears that an invasion was becoming imminent recently.