TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Election Commission (CEC) has rejected a referendum proposal asking for Taiwan’s mandatory military service to be shortened.

The CEC issued a press release on Thursday (July 18) that said the proposal submitted by an individual named Chi-chieh (季節) was rejected because it did not comply with referendum law. The proposal did not comply with articles of law that state national-level referenda can not be held to determine “important policies,” it said.

Chi-chieh submitted the proposal in December, and was asked by the CEC to revise it to comply with the referendum law in June. The CEC's review board said on Thursday this had not been done. 

The CEC said that it could not be accepted because Chi-chieh did not clearly describe the intention of the proposal.

The referendum proposal asked, “Do you agree that men born in 2005 or after who have not begun compulsory military service should serve for four months, not one year?” Supporting documents said that Taiwan’s one-year compulsory military service is “not compatible with peace, national defense, and economic development.”

Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) announced Taiwan’s compulsory military service would increase from four months to one year in December. The first recruits to begin serving for one year started in January.