By Ho Ai Li , Taiwan Correspondent

TAIPEI: - Taiwan is on track to say goodbye to military conscription and hello to a professional military force in five years, said the island's Defence Minister.

Mr Chen Chao-min also stressed that a planned think-tank for military exchanges would be global-oriented and was not a cover for initiating contact with mainland China.

Speaking at a legislature briefing yesterday, he said that with the economic downturn, the military has seen better-than-expected recruitment of regulars.

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