President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday called on the armed forces to serve the nation and its people, while promising that her government would strengthen the connection between the military and the public.
As Tsai is to become commander-in-chief after she is sworn in next month, she was invited to the Ministry of National Defense for a briefing on confidential information behind closed doors, accompanied by vice president-elect Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), premier-designate Lin Chuan (林全) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
“The most important missions for the armed forces are to fight for the survival and development of the Republic of China [ROC] and for the security and welfare for the people in Taiwan,” DPP News and Information Department director Alex Huang (黃重諺) quoted Tsai as saying at a post-briefing news conference at DPP headquarters in Taipei.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“As the next president, I will also fight for the solidarity and honor of the armed forces, so that the military is more respected by the public and more trusted by the people,” Huang quoted Tsai as saying.
Huang said that Tsai promised to more cautiously plan national security and defense strategies.
As for strengthening the connection between the military and civilians, Tsai was quoted as saying that she would use development in national defense, as well as industrial upgrades, as she expects the military to follow the latest trends in society more closely, so that discharged military personnel possess the necessary skills to enable them to start new careers.
Tsai also said that Taiwan should avoid engaging in an arms race with China, but should have the ability to prevent attacks and to defend the nation.
Tsai was received by Minister of National Defense Kao Kuang-chi (高廣圻), Chief of General Staff Yen Teh-fa (嚴德發), vice ministers Chen Yung-kang (陳永康) and Cheng Teh-mei (鄭德美), the commanders of different military branches and other top-ranking officers.
After the 90-minute briefing, Tsai had a 30-minute meeting with defense officials to discuss future development of the military and an all-volunteer military.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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