The Veteran Affairs Council yesterday released a pamphlet advising retired senior military officers to avoid attending official events in China or mingling with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel.
“The Republic of China Army is the Republic of China Army, the PLA is the PLA,” the pamphlet said.
The Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee is to meet today to review the council’s budget for next year, amid controversy over the presence of several Taiwanese veterans at a recent event in Beijing hosted by the Chinese government. Some have speculated that the council’s release of the pamphlet yesterday might be aimed at calming sentiment ahead of today’s budget review.
A number of veterans earlier this month attended a commemorative event for Republic of China founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) in Beijing and were seen on video standing for China’s national anthem and apparently listening intently to a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
The pamphlet called on veterans to avoid attending commemorative or celebratory events in China and asked them to show respect for the nation’s history.
“Veterans should be on guard when they receive such friendly invitations to attend events in China,” the pamphlet said, adding: “It is best to avoid attending.”
The council said that in attending cross-strait activities veterans should respect relevant ordinances, protect the nation’s safety and interests, and be vigilant in protecting classified national information.
It added that veterans must be particularly alert in the face of inappropriate requests from Chinese authorities.
Any questions leading to national security interests should be rebuffed, it said.
Veterans visiting China should seize the opportunity to promote democratic ideals and should act in a manner that fosters peaceful development of cross-strait relations, it said.
The council said that any time veterans attend official activities or academic seminars in China, it causes misunderstandings and doubts about their commitment to national defense.
“We sincerely hope that veterans can uphold the position of ‘putting Taiwan first and protecting people’s interests,’” it said. “What is important is maintaining the current peaceful state of relations ... and protecting the nation’s sovereignty.”
The council said those attending events in China as a group must agree upon a title they will be represented by and settle this with the Chinese side before the event, to prevent Beijing from seizing the opportunity to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty and national interests.
It is the veterans’ responsibility to preserve respect toward the nation, which includes a holistic understanding of history and protection of the position advocated by the nation’s Constitution, the council said.
The terminology normally used by veterans in referring to both sides of the Taiwan Strait is “the Taiwan area and the mainland area,” the council said, adding that veterans are prohibited from disgracing the nation’s government and leader, or making unauthorized agreements with Chinese authorities.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS