Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian urged military service members Saturday to strengthen interaction with civilians in order to win their recognition and support.
Chen made the appeal while attending a Chinese Naval Academy marching band performance at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall complex in Taipei where a dazzling array of lanterns were on display as part of the celebrations of the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival which fell on Saturday this year. "It's a marvelous experience to view a military marching band performance amid a flurry of fascinating lanterns," Chen said.
He praised the Taipei lantern show organizers for their fresh idea in inviting naval cadets to take part in the festive activities to help boost military-civilian exchanges.
Chen encouraged all military service members to increase interaction with civilians to forge friendship and gain their support for the nation's defense policy and military build-up plans.
The graduating naval cadets are now on a round-the-island training voyage ahead of leaving for an overseas shipboard training program. Since 1967, the naval academy has annually sent a "Fleet of Friendship" on a long voyage for graduating cadets to practice shipboard combat skills, tactics and navigation. Over the past 37 years, the fleet has sailed to a number of countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and the Pacific rim.
This year, the Fleet of Friendship is composed of three second-generation warships. It will make port calls at Taiwan's six major sea ports between Feb. 10 and Feb. 22 and will then start a three-month overseas voyage which will take cadets to Panama and 10 other Republic of China diplomatic allies in Latin America and the Caribbean.