President William Lai (賴清德) today warned military cadets not to succumb to China's spying activities and to defend freedom and democracy, speaking at a Cold War-era college originally set up to teach against the perils of communism.
Taiwan and China have long spied on each other, and Taiwan in particular has reported an increased number of Chinese espionage cases, especially in the armed forces.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and its military operates daily around the nation.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
A soldier's honor stems from loyalty, Lai told a graduation ceremony at the Fu Hsing Kang College on the outskirts of Taipei.
"In the face of various threats and challenges, as well as China's infiltration, division, sabotage and espionage activities targeting our armed forces, I ask all of you to establish a clear awareness of friend and foe," he said. "Only by resisting all forms of threat and temptation can we defend our nation's sovereignty and security."
He urged the graduates to oppose communism, guard against infiltration, firmly uphold democracy and freedom, and insist that the Republic of China (Taiwan's formal name) and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.
The college, now part of the National Defense University, was founded in 1951, just two years after the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan, after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's (毛澤東) communists.
Initially its task was to train officers in political warfare and instill a deep feeling of anti-communism in the military.
On either side of the hall where Lai spoke are large Chinese characters reading "I regard the nation's rise or fall as my own personal responsibility," written by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) shortly before his death in 1975.
During the Cold War the college also trained officers from elsewhere in the anti-communist world and it still has foreign students.
Attending today’s ceremony were the ambassadors of Belize, Guatemala and Paraguay, all countries that retain formal ties with Taiwan, as well as the de facto ambassador from Jordan, which does not recognize Taiwan, despite close Cold War military ties.
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