Military will defend Taiwan, MND says

[dArKeR]

Vice Minister of National Defense Huo Shou-yeh (???) yesterday said the military will fight to defend Taiwan regardless of what the cause of an invasion might be.

Huo made the remark when asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (???) "will the military fight for Taiwan's independence" yesterday at the legislature.

In the past, the ministry said the military would protect the Republic of China (ROC) and would fight for its survival. Yesterday was the first time it said the military would fight to protect Taiwan.

Ting told Huo that, according a report on Taiwan's security published by the RAND Corp, the increase of independence-related divisions in Taiwan in recent years has been taken into consideration by China in its military policy toward Taiwan. Ting then asked how the ministry would deal with the political divisions in Taiwan, and whether the military would fight for the country if a war was caused by Taiwan's independence movement.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2005/04/14/2003250379

[Theduckno2]

1. Given China's recent anti-secessionist laws....

This may signal a very ill-wind starting to blow. It is unnerving to see Chinese nationalism ramp up over a Japanese textbook. I'm mildly hopeful that given the intertwining of economies allows cooler heads to prevail.

[lenidog]

2. Its a little more than a just a text book

its what the textbook symbolizes to the Chinese people. Its just another sign in a long history of Japan denying or trying to wipe away their actions during the Sino-Japanese War and WWII. Its akin to Germany trying to tell their kids that the never invaded Russia during WWII or if they did the Germans did nothing wrong at all.

[Voltaire99]

3. Well put, Lenidog. (n/t)

[rodeodance]

4. school textbooks are a political nationalist tool for Japan (and other

countries).

[w4rma]

5. China is hypocritical to be complaining about other countries' censorship

policies when China is possibly *the* most censored country in the world, currently. The historical revisionism that goes on in China and the way that country imprisons anyone who even says one word against the way their government is operation is absolutely fascist.