In his first-ever speech made aboard a warship, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) last week called on China to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, emphasizing that Taiwan will never accept the "one China" principle or the "one country, two systems" model.
A tape of the remarks was televised nationwide last night to mark today's Armed Forces Day.
Chen also expressed his strong discontent over what he called Beijing's incessant attempts to deny Taiwan's existence as a sovereign state.
"For China, our efforts to win recognition in the international community are equivalent to seeking Taiwan independence. Such labeling is not acceptable to us," Chen said.
"Even our brothers in the military will not accept it," Chen said.
Chen made the speech aboard the Chikuang, a Chengkung-class frigate, last Thursday in Keelung port. Chen was accompanied by Chief of the General Staff Admiral Li Chieh (李傑).
The speech will be televised again on Thursday as part of a military education program on the CTS channel.
"Whoever tries to destroy Taiwan will be our common enemy," Chen said.
Also yesterday, Chen attended the military's annual celebration for the Armed Forces Day for the first time. Vice President Annette Lu (
The celebrations included a commendation of honors on servicemen who have been selected as the most outstanding servicemen of the past year.
A total of 95 servicemen received the honors in a ceremony presided over by Chen.
Among those honored was Lieutenant Colonel Huang Shih-hai (黃詩海), who is the leader of a Patriot missile battalion responsible for last year's first-ever successful test-firing of a Patriot missile outside US territory.
Huang told the Taipei Times he felt proud to have been a part of the historic moment.
"The test-firing was a great success. We proved through it that the type of Patriot missile we bought from the US has anti-ballistic missile capabilities," Huang said.
"In the test, we fired a total of two Patriots to intercept a target missile. The target was hit by the first Patriot without any mistake. We had no choice but to destroy the second Patriot by remote control," he said.
Also selected as the most outstanding serviceman of the year was Petty Officer First Class Chen Chi-wen (
Chen was one of the FSU divers who recovered the black boxes of the ill-fated China Airlines flight CI116, which crashed into waters off Penghu on May 25, killing all 225 passengers and crew on board.
Though proud of his achievements, Chen said it was only made possible through the coordinated efforts of all those involved.
"It was because of the guidance by the remotely operated vehicles of the mine sweepers that we were able to locate the black boxes," Chen said.
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