The Presidential Office yesterday dismissed a media report claiming that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had instructed the military not to conduct live-fire exercises during the Han Kuang military drill, scheduled to be held between Sept. 22 and Sept. 26.
Dismissing the report as “untrue,” Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said Ma would respect the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) arrangements.
Wang made the remarks in response to a media inquiry about a Chinese-language China Times report yesterday that Ma requested the military not to fire any live munitions during the exercise as a goodwill gesture toward China.
The ministry had previously said it would not televise any part of the second-stage, live-fire exercise as Ma’s predecessors had done.
NO GUESTS
The ministry also decided not to invite the media or other guests to observe the drill, which it said was to save energy in line with government policy.
Wang said yesterday Ma had not yet decided whether to observe the drill, which will be the first Han Kuang exercise since he took office in May.
The ministry yesterday also issued a press release, denying the China Times report.
It confirmed, however, that a missile firing display, which in the past saw the military fire missiles and artillery shells simultaneously while inviting members of the media to take pictures, would be canceled this time.
“We decided to cancel the missile firing display to save resources,” the press release said.
SUPPORT
When approached for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), head of the legislature’s Diplomacy and National Defense Committee, expressed support for the ministry’s decision to cancel the display.
“That [display] was completely for show,” he said. “It was a scene of bustle and excitement, but completely worthless in terms of a military drill.”
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
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