A military display will be staged on Double Ten National Day this year in which paratroopers will also be featured, a Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said yesterday.
"We will have a parade by the armed forces, demonstrations of advanced military equipment and paratroopers landing in front of the Presidential Office," ministry spokesman Major General Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) said. "It will be a joint forces military display, not a performance."
Yu made the remarks at a press conference yesterday to brief the public on the ministry's planed military demonstration for this year's National Day.
On Monday, the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister paper) reported that for the first time in 16 years, a large-scale troop parade would be held on National Day.
Officials from the Presidential Office later discounted the report, saying there would be no troop review or military parade in the goose-step style. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who also doubles as the National Day celebrations committee chairman, said on Monday it would not be a troop review but rather a military performance.
"I heard rumors that paratroopers would jump from Taipei 101. I assure you this is impossible," Yu said yesterday. "We have yet to decide where the paratroopers will be jumping from. It will all depend on the weather and the direction of the wind on that day."
To ensure the safety of paratroopers who could accidentally get cuaght in electricity wires during their landing, the power grid within a radius of 1km of the drop zone will be shut down while the paratroopers make their descent toward the Presidential Office.
When, where and how to temporarily cut the electricity has yet to be decided, the ministry said.
The Army's Airborne Division will hold a practice run at the Air Force's Songshan Command Headquarters on Aug. 11, the ministry said.
MND Warfare Department Assistant Director Major General Wang Hsing-wei (
Later on, Wang said the idea was his.
"The Airborne Division will look at my proposal and decide whether paratroopers should do it or not," he said.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
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