Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) departed from his script yesterday during the 87th Anniversary of the Republic of China (ROC) Military Academy yesterday and emphasized that the ROC military and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were two entirely distinct entities.
“The nation's army is the ROC Army, and the PLA is the PLA, a fact that serving or retired officers should all know,” Kao said.
The minister’s comments came in the wake of a recent controversy over comments allegedly made by retired Air Force general Hsia Ying-chou (夏瀛洲) on a visit to China.
Photo: CNA
According to reports in the local Chinese-language media, Hsia allegedly told a gathering of retired military officers that no distinction should be made between the ROC army and the PLA, as both were “China’s army.”
Hsia has denied ever making such a comment.
Kao commended the long-term contributions of the Military Academy and encouraged students to learn from their predecessors’ spirit of sacrifice and determination to fight, glorifying the spirit of Huangpu, as the Military Academy was known when it was founded in Guangdong Province, China, in May 1924.
Turning to wu de, or martial virtue, Kao said the armed forces must pursue the ideals of defending the country and people, and maintaining social stability, adding that martial virtue was in essence a soldier’s “second life.”
“If the military cannot subscribe to those ideals or even turn its back on them, it not only turns its back on the nation that trained them, but also on the people who put their trust in them, and this will have a deeply negative impact on national security,” Kao said.
Following news of Hsia’s alleged comments, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) ordered a thorough review of regulations over visits to China by retired military officers.
At a routine press conference by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Wednesday, Taiwanese media asked whether the Chinese felt the continuation of the controversy over Hsia’s statement could affect military exchanges and mutual trust across the Taiwan Strait.
TAO spokesperson Yang Yi (楊毅) said the “deep exchanges” had increased mutual understanding and promoted peaceful development, which was an important development in relations between the two sides.
However, Yang also said limiting cross-strait exchanges or “actively fanning antagonistic ideologies” — a veiled reference to pro-independence forces in Taiwan — would be detrimental to the “hopes of the people across the Strait” and against the tide of cross-strait development.
It would also be unwise, Yang said.
Commenting on Yang’s remarks, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) accused the TAO of “blatantly carrying out ‘united front’ rhetoric,” adding that the remarks were tantamount to slapping Ma in the face.
DPP Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said the TAO’s strong language and assumed suzerainty over Taiwan was completely unacceptable to the DPP and Taiwanese.
Wong said retired generals who used inappropriate language that betrayed the nation and undermined trust in the government would rightly be criticized.
“We have our own stance and the TAO has no right and is in no position to criticize us,” Wong said.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS