Legislative by-election candidate Enoch Wu (吳怡農) on Wednesday voiced support for the government’s plan to extend conscription to one year, saying that its efforts in the past few years have borne fruit to bolster Taiwan’s sovereignty and the military capabilities needed to safeguard its citizens.

“For our national security, the only goal is to prevent war,” said Wu, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate in the by-election in Taipei on Wednesday, which was called to fill the legislative seat vacated by Taipei mayor-elect Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).