Deterrence through military strength is the best hope for peace and the armed forces will show the public their raison d’etre through their unshakable determination to defend the nation, Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) said yesterday.
Yen made the remarks in a speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, a protracted artillery duel between Republic of China and Chinese communist forces from Aug. 23 to Sept. 22, 1958, known in Taiwan as the 823 Artillery Bombardment.
The commemoration was attended by active and retired generals, Kimen County Government functionaries and Veteran Affairs Council officials.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Highlighting the Chinese military threat and the necessity of maintaining a military that can mount a credible deterrence, Yen said: “Security lies only in strength; if you want peace, prepare for war.”
Yen said that since he took office, the adage for officers and enlistees has been: “It is dangerous for a country at peace to forget about war.”
There can be no tolerance of sloth or negligence in the military, on which falls the great responsibility of maintaining national security, he added.
China’s military buildup poses a great threat to peace in the Asia Pacific region, Yen said, adding that he has instructed all levels of the military to adapt their structure and combat capabilities to the “strong defense, multilayered deterrence” doctrine.
The overall national defense strategy is to enhance force protection, win decisive battles in near-sea areas and annihilate enemy forces on beachheads, Yen said.
The annual Han Kuang military exercises are to remain the main testing ground to improve combined-arms skills and practical experience to build joint warfare capabilities, he said.
The ministry remains committed to indigenous aircraft, surface warships and submarine development, and to upgrading legacy weapon systems that are crucial for the armed forces’ combat power, he said.
As warfare and the nature of military service change, today’s armed forces need long-serving and high-quality talent, which is why the ministry has initiated a wide range of reforms to improve military pay and benefits, Yen said.
“Considering the latest international developments, we urge the nation to remember that peace cannot be built on the enemy’s goodwill,” he said. “The armed forces will always be true to their core value and conviction that they are the guardians of the nation and the people.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday released a recorded statement to mark the anniversary, saying that her administration is committed to safeguarding Taiwan and calling for unity among the public.
In a video on Facebook, Tsai expressed gratitude on behalf of the public to military personnel and troops stationed on the front line in Kinmen during the intense bombardment.
“We now live in a free, democratic and prosperous society all because of their brave sacrifices for the nation,” Tsai said in the video.
She said that during the bombardment, the world saw Taiwanese, regardless of their ethnicity, as united and fully committed to protecting their country.
“Our mission of protecting this nation and safeguarding Taiwan to preserve its free and democratic lifestyle has not changed,” Tsai said. “No matter how fierce the bombardment, we will remain as committed as 60 years ago to safeguarding our homeland.”
Tsai said that since taking office in 2016, she has implemented military reforms to secure the continued existence of the Republic of China and protect the welfare of the public.
“So it is our consensus to fully support the military, and we should serve as their backup,” she said.
Tsai said that the government would do its utmost to maintain amicable relations with China, but would not give in to pressure or take national security for granted.
“As we look back, we must remember that unity is the cornerstone of peace across the Strait,” she said. “What we should be passing on to younger generations is the spirit of the response to the 823 Artillery Bombardment.”
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger today issued a public apology and said it has suspended an employee amid allegations that the staff member discriminated against a Vietnamese customer at its Taipei 101 store. Posting on the social media platform Threads yesterday, a user said that an employee at the store said that “those shoes are very expensive” when her friend, who is a migrant worker from Vietnam, asked for assistance. The employee then ignored her until she asked again, to which she replied: "We don't have a size 37." The post had amassed nearly 26,000 likes and 916 comments as of this
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
RSS