The 90th anniversary of the Republic of China (ROC) Military Academy is being marked with an extensive exhibition in Taipei.
Running through Oct. 18 at the Armed Forces Museum, the exhibition provides an overall view of the role of the military throughout the history of the Republic of China, the museum said.
The display of dozens of historic documents and artifacts commemorates the ROC Military Academy’s 1924 founding in China’s Guangzhou Province as the Whampoa Military Academy, before it relocated in 1950 to Taiwan, where its name was changed.
The military academy is seen as a symbol of the nation’s armed forces, which fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing China to communist forces in the Chinese Civil War.
Visitors to the exhibition can learn more about the ROC military and its role in safeguarding the nation — from the early days of the ROC in the 1920s to the war against Japan from 1937 to 1945, and the civil war with the Chinese Communist Party up until 1949, the museum said.
Since then, the military has continued its role, successfully defending the nation and its outlying islands through such significant battles as a 44-day Chinese artillery attack known as the 823 Bombardment that began on Aug. 23, 1958. Photographs of this confrontation are on display at the exhibition, the museum said.
The exhibition also explores the modernization of the military, with videos and models of its advanced weapons and aircraft, including the latest addition to the Army’s arsenal — Apache AH-64E attack helicopters bought from the US.
Chen Kun-hui, a 26-year-old graduate school student, said the exhibition helped him learn more details about the early history of the ROC, when the military fought against Chinese warlords in an effort to stabilize China.
Since its opening on June 13, the exhibition has attracted more than 6,450 visitors, museum statistics showed.
“We wanted to learn more about the history of the ROC, because we didn’t get to learn much of the ROC in Hong Kong,” said Carina Wong, a 43-year-old tourist from the former British colony.
Her husband, Edmund Su, said that he learned a lot through the exhibition, especially about the 823 Bombardment in Kinmen County.
Asked about the annual July 1 pro-democracy demonstration in Hong Kong, they expressed support for the protesters’ call for universal suffrage and their defense of Hong Kongers’ right to self-rule. They have both participated in previous July 1 protests, they said.
In addition to the exhibition, the Ministry of National Defense presented three performances of a musical about the ROC military and its role protecting the nation over the years, as well as a large celebration at the academy on June 16.
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