The Ministry of National Defense said yesterday that reciting the Republic of China (ROC) Armed Forces Directives is part of the spiritual education of service members, but a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker dismissed the directives as a revival of the legacy of authoritarian rule.
After presiding over the joint commencement of 669 cadets from the five military academies in Fengshan, Kaohsiung County, earlier the same day, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) led the cadets in reciting the directives, which touch on discipline, loyalty and obedience.
The practice was suspended in 2003.
Yesterday was the first time Ma led service officers as commander-in-chief.
Ministry spokeswoman Lisa Chi (池玉蘭) said that at the suggestion of the ministry’s Political Warfare Department, Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) had approved the resumption of the practice.
Following Chen’s approval, the directives have been recited at major military events and monthly meetings since June 10, Chi said.
The directives are chanted based on ROC military protocol, with the aim of molding an officer’s character and fortifying his or her spirit, the spokeswoman said.
“After all, servicemen are different from civilians,” she said, adding that spiritual education must not be overlooked.
DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), however, described Ma’s action as “most inappropriate,” adding that the reading was a legacy of authoritarian rule.
Chai described the practice as a “dogmatic way of teaching during the authoritarian era.”
One passage in the directives’ preface — which is not recited as part of the 10 directives — illustrates just how out of date the directives have become, Chai said.
It reads: “We Chinese people, who have been building our country to today, have existed for 5,000 years, and a 400 million-strong peaceful and outstanding people has converged on a land of more than 11 million square kilometers.”
The words were spoken by dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in 1936, Chai said, arguing that it was anachronistic to recite directives that were laid out 72 years ago.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS