Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) President Lee Teng-hui on Thursday reaffirmed no change in the Republic of China's policy toward mainland China.
Lee's reaffirmation came in a written message read at a rally marking the 1999 Armed Forces Day.
This was one of the many times that President Lee has clarified the direction of the ROC's mainland policy since he declared in an interview with a German radio station on July 9 that relations across the Taiwan Strait should be defined as a "special state-to-state relationship."
Lee's "special state-to-state" declaration has drawn furious reaction from Beijing, which regards the statement as a provocative move to promote Taiwan independence.
However, Lee said in his Armed Forces Day message that the ROC's stance toward cross-strait relations have remained unchanged.
"We'll continue promoting cross-strait exchanges in line with our National Unification Guidelines," Lee said, adding that the ROC looks forward to open a new page in cross-strait ties on a basis of parity.
Noting that the ROC hopes to play a more active role in mainland China's pursuit of modernization, Lee said Taiwan will promote dialogue and consultations with mainland China in a peaceful, rational and reciprocal manner with a view to help boost economic development and democratic reform on the mainland.
Lee went on to point out that as mainland China has never eased its military threat toward Taiwan, the ROC's armed forces should continue strengthening combat-readiness training and upgrading overall defense capabilities.
"We must maintain a strong deterrent force so that we can withstand mainland China's saber-rattling or military threat and that cross-strait ties can enter a new stage on a basis of equality," the president stressed.
Addressing the rally, Chief of the General Staff Tang Yao-ming said mainland China remains No. 1 threat to Taiwan's security. "We should not ignore communist China's persistent military threat to Taiwan."
Tang said Beijing has never hesitated to launch saber-rattling and even menacing live-fire military maneuvering to intimidate Taiwan, citing mainland China's missile test-firing in the run-up to the ROC's first-ever direct presidential election in 1996 and recent increased sorties of communist Chinese jet fighters over Lee's "special state-to-state" theory.
Tang also revealed for the first time that communist China has begun developing combat strategy and tactics as well as related weaponry for the so-called "unsymmetrical warfare" since mid-1990s.
Noting that the success of "unsymmetrical warfare" lies in psychological factors, Tang said communist military authorities have often stressed the importance of studying the general mentality of the enemy.
"In its internal teaching materials, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has clearly explained that even the most sophisticated weapons exist exploitable weaknesses," Tang said, adding that communist authorities have demanded that all PLA units target "human being" not "weapons" in their combat strategy research programs.
Tang pointed out that communist China's "unsymmetrical warfare" against Taiwan is based on the premise that Taiwan people's willpower is generally weak and vulnerable.
Against this backdrop, Tang said, psychological defense is critical to Taiwan's security. "The weaker the people's willpower, the higher the possibility of a communist invasion of Taiwan," he warned.
Stressing that the best strategy to safeguard Taiwan's security is to step up combat preparedness while never taking any provoking actions, Tang said all civilian people should support the country's military modernization plans.