In the 1950s, following the retreat by nationalist Kuomintang forces of Chiang Kai-shek from mainland China in December 1949, the Taiwanese armed forces were 600,000-strong. As recently as 2004, the combined force total of the Republic of China (ROC) armed forces reached 385,000 troops. Under the 2011-2014 Jingtsui modernization effort, the armed forces were reduced from 270,000 to 215,000. However, efforts to enlist volunteers to backfill the reduction caused by the (still hoped for) end of conscription have fallen short, leaving Taiwan in danger of missing its recruiting goals as declining budgets eat away at the Ministry of National Defense's ability to entice - and retain - recruits. On January 1, 2013, the conscription period was shortened from one year to just four months of compulsory basic training. The shift to an all-volunteer force, once planned for 2014, was postponed indefinitely as recruitment fails to improve.
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