Keep out of China’s clutches, Taiwan’s president tells military cadets
By Ben Blanchard and Ann Wang
TAIPEI, June 30 (Reuters) – Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te warned military cadets on Tuesday not to succumb to China’s espionage activities and to defend freedom and democracy, speaking at a Cold War-era college originally established to train against the dangers of communism.
Taiwan and China, which consider the democratically governed island as their own territory, have long spied on each other, and Taiwan in particular has reported a growing number of cases of Chinese espionage, especially in the armed forces.
China has never stopped using force to control Taiwan, and its military operates around the island every day.
A soldier’s honor comes from loyalty, Lai said at the graduation ceremony held at 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 maintain a clear awareness of friend and foe,” he said.
“Only by resisting all threats and temptations can we defend our nation’s sovereignty and security.”
CALL TO GRADUATES AGAINST COMMUNISM
He urged graduates to oppose communism, take precautions against infiltration, firmly defend democracy and freedom, and insist that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not interconnected, using the official name of Taiwan.
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 communists.
Originally its mission was to train officers in political warfare and instill a deep sense of anti-communism in the army, and it still has a very old-school feel to it.
On either side of the hall where Lai is speaking are large Chinese characters that read “I consider the rise or fall of the nation to be my own personal responsibility,” a quote written by former Taiwan leader Chiang Kai-shek shortly before his death in 1975.
Chiang is a polarizing figure in Taiwan today; While reviled by some for his brutal rule, he is respected by others for his strong opposition to communism.
During the Cold War the college also trained officers from other parts of the anti-communist world and still has foreign students.
Tuesday’s ceremony was attended by the ambassadors of Belize, Guatemala and Paraguay, which maintain official ties with Taiwan, and the de facto ambassador of Jordan, which does not recognize Taiwan despite close military ties during the Cold War.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Ann Wang; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
