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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Lai warns cadets against China’s grasp
President William Lai, front row, center, poses for a photograph with military cadets during the Taiwan Military Academy graduation ceremony in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF:President William Lai urged the graduates to oppose communism, guard against infiltration, and firmly uphold democracy and freedom
By Fang Wei-li / Staff reporter, with Reuters
President William Lai （賴清德） yesterday urged military graduates to beware of China’s spying activities and clearly distinguish friend from foe.
Lai made the remark in his address to a graduation ceremony at the Fu Hsing Kang College on the outskirts of Taipei, saying that a soldier’s honor stems from loyalty.
“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 said.
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 not renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and its military operates daily around the nation.
Lai urged the graduates to oppose communism, guard against infiltration, firmly uphold democracy and freedom, and insist that Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.
Facing China’s continued military activity and “gray zone” pressure in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, Taiwan will keep bolstering its self-defense capabilities, he said.
The nation would also work closely with democratic partners to improve collective deterrence, with the aim of achieving “peace through strength,” he added.
The president told the graduates that graduation from a military academy marked not the end of learning, but the start of a new stage of service in which graduates would put their training into practice.
He urged them to keep learning, particularly as artificial intelligence and digital transformation reshape the security landscape, and to cultivate innovative thinking and cross-disciplinary expertise.
He also called on them to embrace challenges, broaden their global outlook and sharpen their leadership skills to lead the armed forces into a new era.
The government would remain the military’s staunchest backer and continue boosting defense spending, he said.
Through overseas arms purchases, international cooperation and the development of Taiwan’s indigenous defense industry, the government aims to build a “T-Dome,” equip the armed forces with cutting-edge weapons and gradually develop a smart, sustainable defense force, Lai said.
The college, now part of the National Defense University, was founded in 1951, just two years after the defeated Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） 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. During the Cold War, the college also trained officers from elsewhere in the anti-communist world, and it still has foreign students.
Attending yesterday’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.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Military cadets pose for a photograph during a graduation ceremony in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Newly graduated cadets fling their caps in celebration during the Taiwan Military Academy graduation ceremony in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
