The Republic of China (ROC) Military Academy’s Kaohsiung base yesterday held a parade to celebrate its 95th anniversary.
The parade, presided over by Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發), opened with flybys by army helicopters, including OH-58D scout helicopters, AH-1W Super Cobras, AH-64E Apaches and UH-60M Black Hawks.
The navy’s CH-47SD Chinook transport helicopters and S-70C helicopters and the air force’s Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team in AT-3 jet trainers also took part in the celebration.
Photo: Tsai Ching-hua, Taipei Times
Soldiers from the army’s 333rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade and cadets from army, air force and navy academies paraded on the ground.
The brigade was chosen for the parade because its predecessor was one of the founding units of the Whampoa Military Academy, which preceded the ROC Military Academy, the ministry said.
The Whampoa Military Academy was established by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in China’s Guangzhou Province on June 6, 1924, to build a modern military.
Following the Chinese Civil War, the academy in 1949 relocated to Kaohsiung and was renamed the ROC Military Academy.
The ceremony was attended by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), a graduate of the academy.
Han, who is seeking the KMT’s presidential nomination, said he was excited to attend the event as a graduate and as mayor of the host city.
Meanwhile, in Taipei, three other KMT presidential candidates — Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), former Taipei county commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and National Taiwan University professor Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) — and KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) attended a banquet organized by academy alumni to celebrate the anniversary.
Former New Taipei mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), who is also vying for the party’s nomination, did not participate in any of the anniversary activities.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also did not participate in this year’s celebrations. She presided over the academy’s 92nd anniversary celebrations in 2016.
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