Taiwan cherishes its freedom and democracy, and no “external force” can change its future, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday while visiting Kinmen County for the 75th anniversary of a key victory over communist forces.
Lai told veterans and family members that the October 1949 Battle of Guningtou, when Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) forces beat off an invasion attempt of Kinmen by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), “represents our determination to protect our country.”
“The Battle of Guningtou makes us realize that democracy and freedom are not something to be taken for granted,” Lai said.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
“We treasure a democratic and free way of life, and we cannot, and will not, allow any external force to change the future of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, right?” he added.
Lai reiterated his determination to maintain peace and stability and defend Taiwan’s sovereignty, as well as his willingness to talk to Beijing.
“Our insistence on safeguarding a democratic and free lifestyle for generations to come has not changed and will remain unchanged,” he added.
Photo: Annabelle Chih, Reuters
The Kinmen battle was a rare victory for Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) forces in the final days of China’s civil war.
In December of that year, the KMT government fled to Taiwan and in the following years and months would lose a string of other islands and islets to communist forces.
It was Lai’s second trip to Kinmen since he took office in May.
Photo: CNA
The visit comes after the army’s Penghu Defense Command held its first-ever nighttime live-fire drills on Thursday aimed at getting the military accustomed to the possibility of an invasion by the PLA in the dark.
The exercise was conducted at the Wude (五德) area in the southern part of the main island in Penghu County.
The entire exercise was performed to simulate the potential actions that would be taken by the PLA in a surprise nighttime invasion, command officials said.
The exercises, which the media were invited to attend, consisted of aerial, naval and land simulations in the dark, officials said.
The land drills featured CM-21 armored vehicles and M60A3 tanks deployed with soldiers armed with weaponry, and they were all equipped with night-vision gear to provide clear views.
Live ammunition was also fired around the beaches in the area to prepare for a possible land attack.
To counter a simulated aerial invasion using uncrewed aerial vehicles, the army deployed flares to light up the night sky to fire 120mm mortars into the air.
Naval simulations involved the possibility that the PLA Navy might penetrate Taiwan’s waters disguised as fishers, the army said, which subsequently involved the firing of ammunition from the land to sea.
Ahead of the drills, the Coast Guard Administration issued a notice to local fishers and boat users warning them there would be a live-fire exercise in the waters near Wude.
The drills were held in 18 locations, and more than 32,000 rounds of different kinds of ammunition were fired.
On what was the most difficult aspect of firing ammunition at night, army officials said it was fighting through sand blown by gusts of wind that were strengthened by seasonal northeasterly winds, as well as the visual challenges brought by nighttime combat.
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