For Taiwan youth, military service is a hard sell despite China tension

A performer dressed in a military honour guard mascot costume dances during a public fair which displays military equipments, in Taipei, Taiwan September 29, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan Air Force Staff Sergeant Jiang Pin-shiuan's pitch to freshmen at Taipei's Tamkang University seemed compelling: join the island's armed forces and get a state-sponsored degree, 110 days of leave each year and annual savings of T$312,500 ($10,200).

But many listening students showed little interest, arguing national service was a "waste of time" and prospects of the self-ruled island standing up economically or militarily to an increasingly aggressive China were slim.