Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) remarks about China have hurt the feelings of a certain group of people.
“The war with Japan is only a few decades in the past, and those who lived through that time are still alive; therefore their understanding of history and memories should be respected. What Lien has said might have hurt the feelings of these people,” Tsai said in response to media requests for comment on remarks made by Lien during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Tuesday.
“Politicians, especially someone who has served as vice president like Lien, should be very careful when talking about history,” Tsai said.
Photo: Tsai Meng-shang, Taipei Times
Tsai was referring to Lien’s remarks that KMT troops and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) troops worked together to combat the Japanese occupation of China.
Lien also said that while KMT troops caused “severe damage” to Japanese troops on the front lines, the CCP troops “annihilated” Japanese troops from behind enemy lines.
In seperate comments, Tsai yesterday said in a statement that she has asked the DPP’s think tank to undertake research on establishing an all-volunteer army.
“The change to a voluntary military would mean a focus on treasuring people and putting their talents to good use,” Tsai said. “We hope to push for reforms in the recruiting process, training of military personnel, and address post-service career development when soldiers have left the military.”
She said that the military should not only focus on improving national security, but also training talent that might be helpful to industry and society.
“It would help military recruitment if we could make military personnel highly competitive in the job market once they leave the services, and improve the social status and image of soldiers,” Tsai said.
Tsai made the policy proposal during a DPP Central Standing Committee meeting after being briefed by the DPP think tank on the issue.
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