I am very pleased today to be able to come to the port city of Kaohsiung again, and witness the glorious moment of the decommissioning of Kaohsiung Harbor's Wharf No. 13. It comes as the very first step to join together the harbor and the city of Kaohsiung. It is also the realization of one of my campaign pledges to you, my Kaohsiung fellows.
Wharf No. 13, close to the Love River, has seen millions of young men off to the offshore islands defending Taiwan. Because the wharf is one of the most important logistic bases during the martial law period, it recorded a great many love stories as our young men said goodbye to their lovers and were sent away to the frontlines from here. For over 50 years it has witnessed sorrow and pain as well as countless joyful moments. With Wharf No. 13 accomplishing its mission for the time being, it will now relinquish its role as a military base. But those memories of Wharf No. 13 serving and supporting our servicemen who strived to defend Taiwan's national security will remain in our hearts always.
Although Wharf No. 13 is no longer used for military purpose, protecting the lives of Taiwan's 23 million people, introducing advanced arms equipment, enhancing the quality of our military personnel, and strengthening the power of Taiwan's national defense will still be Taiwan's biggest concern. I hope everyone would support the country's national defense development, ensure Taiwan's national security, and increase our self-defense capability. As we all know, the real purpose of national defense lies in creating peace instead of making troubles. As we invest in national defense today, we invest in peace and democracy. If we ignore national defense today, we encourage war. To protect our lives, property and our children, I want to call on all our people to continue to support the military as well as the arms bills proposed by the government.