Taiwan has widened its voluntary rifle training for reservists, and early participants say it helped them get back into shape for a fight — a small but real boost to the island's backup defense force.

• The Defense Ministry dropped the rule that only people discharged within the past 12 years could sign up, and the first class under the new rule was held at Chenggong Ling in Taichung.
• Trainees fired live rounds with the T91 rifle over a half-day course and said it brought back their shooting instincts and showed them how the military trains today.
• More than half the class were older reservists, many long out of uniform, who kept up with the position changes and drills despite the physical demands.
• One participant noted that people discharged more than 12 years ago get no callback training at all, so this is their only path back to a live-fire range.
• China's growing military pressure on Taiwan has pushed some reservists to pay for their own shooting courses abroad and at private Taiwanese defense schools.

Outlook: Pressure is building to scrap the same 12-year limit for full reserve callback duty, and to add drone and weapons-malfunction training to the syllabus.