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Chen marks war incident and urges troops to be vigilant

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday encouraged all military personnel to heighten their vigilance against threats to Taiwan's national security and to step up their efforts to ensure combat readiness.

Chen made the statement in an open letter marking the 60th anniversary of the victory of the war of resistance against Japan.

Today is the 68th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which marked the beginning of the war of resistance in China.

In the letter addressed to the armed forces, Chen said he hoped that all service members could glorify the legacy of that war and dedicate themselves to unity and defending the nation and the people's well-being.

"An important inspiration from the eight-year war against the Japanese is that the weak can defeat the strong so long as the military and the people remain united,'" Chen said.

"By the same token, although Taiwan is small, its spirit is high," he said.

Compared to China's communist regime, which is undemocratic, lacks transparency in its policy-making and faces an uncertain future, Taiwan has become a stabilizing force in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

As a loyal member of the democratic world, Taiwan has become the focus of the world's attention with regard to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Chen said.

Noting China's enactment of an "Anti-Secession" Law in March and its "united front" schemes against Taiwan, Chen urged all men and women in uniform to augment their spiritual and psychological strength to form a strong combat force.

Chen also called on the people to support the government's three major weapons-procurement plans in order to boost the nation's defenses.

Until China becomes a democracy and renounces its threat to use military force against Taiwan, the nation must be capable of preventing outside forces from jeopardizing its democratic development and the lives and wellbeing of its people, Chen said.

He said that only a strong military force that knows what to fight for and who to fight for can provide a secure environment for the government to complete the constitutional reform process, pursue a peaceful cross-strait relationship, expand the nation's diplomatic presence, as well as modernize its defenses.

Chen said Taiwan has another asset that the other side of the Strait lacks -- a military which belongs to the nation and its 23 million people, not any individual or political party.

The democratization of the armed forces could also serve as a model to catalyze national unity and reconciliation among the political parties, Chen said.

He said he hoped that all the men and women in uniform would work hand-in-hand with his administration to fulfill the noble mission of "pursuing a peaceful world and realizing the dream of being free.
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