Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian
yesterday urged the island's armed forces to remain vigilant against
the threat posed by the mainland.
Attending a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the
military-run Political Warfare College, Mr Chen warned that China
was waging an active campaign to subvert Taiwan through overt and
covert means.
"The Chinese communists refuse to
renounce the threat of military force against Taiwan and continue
their planned 'united front' campaigns to infiltrate, divide and
steal secrets from us," Mr Chen said after reviewing graduating
cadets.
"This presents a serious threat to our country's defence and
security," he said. "We must continue to evaluate ways to guard
against the Chinese communists' plots."
The President's appearance at the school attracted widespread
attention in the island's press, as Mr Chen had been one of the
institution's harshest critics during his years as a rabble-rousing
opposition lawmaker.
Taiwan's United Evening News recalled that when he was a
lawmaker, Mr Chen had called for the college to be abolished.
The newspaper said generals were surprised when they found the
President would preside over yesterday's ceremony.
The school had been founded by former strongman Chiang Kai-shek
to train psychological warfare personnel who would help him achieve
his goal of launching a counter-attack on the mainland.
Under pressure from the United States, Chiang's great
counter-attack never took place, but the island's armed forces
remained fiercely loyal to his Kuomintang when Taiwan was still
under martial law.
The military gradually abandoned its links to the KMT as Taiwan
underwent democratisation in the 1990s, but almost all generals and
officers were still KMT members. Yesterday, Mr Chen praised the
armed forces for abandoning these links.
Mr Chen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, is trying
to gain the trust of military leaders and has made frequent trips to
military bases and academies.
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