Under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defense, a military museum is being built in Taipei.
The budget for it has skyrocketed, and some academics have criticized the museum’s historical narrative that considers the Whampoa Military Academy in China as its origin. More of a connection to Taiwan should be made, they said.
The Control Yuan once reviewed the lack of success of the nation’s all-out defense education, showing that the ambiguity of cross-strait relations has led to different opinions on national identity and defense awareness.
The government’s lack of long-term policies has failed to bring all agencies together to promote such education. Civil servants should receive more training in this respect.
OUTDATED
The All-Out Defense Education Act (全民國防教育法) was enacted after the first rotation of ruling parties.
The act was not outlined by the government, but was proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, especially those who were closely affiliated with officials involved in political warfare.
In other words, the act was entangled in a contest between groups that had different perspectives on national identity and weapons procurement.
The draft act was extremely crude, with some of its articles copied from China, and the review process was rushed. After the act was passed and enacted, it became no more than a formality.
The All-Out Defense Education Act must be revised and updated. Two articles relate to the establishment of the military museum.
Article 5 mentions the “protection, promotion and education of national defense artifacts.”
Article 11 says that “historical sites, museums, memorial halls and other cultural sites” should be properly managed to “enhance the collection, studies, interpretation and protection of works for meaningful artifacts of all-out defense education.”
REFORMS
The objective of national defense education is essentially different from the preservation of cultural assets. These two articles must be amended to meet that goal.
Confronted by threats of invasion, it is necessary to enhance the defense knowledge and national awareness of Taiwanese.
The first task is to improve relevant laws as soon as possible.
Jiang Zung-shiang is a lawyer. He holds a master’s degree in law from the National Defense University.
Translated by Emma Liu
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