A powerful defense is needed to maintain peace, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday as she led her final remembrance service as Taiwan’s commander in chief for those killed during the 1958 defense of Kinmen County against a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invasion.
Her visit to Kinmen — just a few kilometers from China at its closest point — comes as Beijing has increased military activity around Taiwan.
It was the third time since taking office in 2016 that Tsai has attended the annual memorial, which marks the anniversary of the start of a massive PLA artillery bombardment of Kinmen at the beginning of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis 65 years ago.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The president burned incense, laid a wreath and bowed her head to pay her respects to those who died during the conflict. She was accompanied by Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄).
Tsai recalled how the troops and civilians “fought with one heart and persisted in repelling the enemy forces who tried to invade.”
“To keep the peace, we need to strengthen ourselves,” Tsai said. “As such, we need to continue to reform the national defense, push for self-reliance, strengthen our defense capabilities and resilience.”
Photo: CNA
The president later attended a luncheon for survivors and family members of those killed during the 1958 bombardment, in which Kinmen was hit with 475,000 artillery shells over 44 days.
“Our position on maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is very firm,” Tsai said at the lunch, adding that there would be no Taiwan today if they had not prevailed during the crisis in 1958.
Fighting broke out on Aug. 23, 1958, when Chinese forces began an intense bombardment of Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang counties in a bid to dislodge the Republic of China (ROC) government, which had retreated from China to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War.
Taiwan fought with support from the US, which sent military equipment such as Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles, giving Taiwan a technological edge.
The crisis ended in a stalemate.
Additional reporting by AP and AFP
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