Hundreds of former Republic of China Marine Corps members gathered at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei yesterday to protest the Ministry of National Defense’s plan to put the Marine Corps under the command of the Republic of China Army.
While delivering a report to the Legislative Yuan in March, Minster of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明) said that the ministry was considering merging the Marine Corps into the army in an initiative called the Yong Ku project.
“We do not believe President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) promise that the Yong Ku project will not result in the total disbanding the Marine Corps and the military police headquarters,” protest convener Hsu Ting-pang (許定邦) said yesterday, adding that even if the corps were not disbanded, the merger would still weaken it too much.
Photo: CNA
Hsu said he hoped the protest would encourage the country to strengthen national consciousness education, be 100 percent forthcoming toward the dangers facing it, increase defense spending and bolster the procurement of weapons and defensive equipment.
“We hope the government will rescind its policy of having an all-volunteer armed forces and return to the half-compulsory, half-voluntary system,” Hsu said, adding that the demonstrators also want the government to reinstate the policy of keeping garrisons on outlying islands, as well as carry out a review on the current formation of the armed forces.
“The nation should seek to re-establish its dignity and forbid its retired generals from visiting China,” Hsu said.
The former marines call themselves the “Fire Ants” in a nod to the red shirts they wore for the event that bore the words “A Marine for a day, A Marine for Life.”
Hsu said yesterday was the second time the group has met to convey a message to the government, adding that the rally attended by hundreds of former marines had been three weeks in the planning.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS