On the morning of August 30, President Ma Ying-jeou attended activities at the Armed Forces Cultural Center in Taipei to celebrate 2013 Armed Forces Day and National Defense Education Day. The president stated that the nation should recognize the outstanding contributions of its armed forces in recent years in disaster preparedness, disaster rescue, and reconstruction. He said that the public should not lose faith in the military due to a single incident, nor should members of the armed forces lose morale.
In remarks, President Ma stated that defending the nation is the duty of the armed forces, and serving in the military is more than a profession, but in fact a lifelong pursuit. He mentioned that from the time of the establishment of Whampoa Army in 1924, the ROC's armed forces have had a distinguished tradition of "love of nation, love of the common people, no corruption, and no fear of death." He said that the armed forces have resisted foreign aggression and protected the nation with their flesh and blood. The president cited several of the most glorious pages in the military's history, such as the victory at the Battle of Guningtou and the Battle for Dengbu Island in 1949, the Battle for Yijiangshan in 1955, the Battle of Dadan and Erdan Islets in 1950, and the 823 Artillery War in 1958, and added that the contributions of the military are extremely admirable.
President Ma recognized that the image of the armed forces has recently been tarnished by a small number of unworthy officers who did not act in accordance with regulations and administrative practices, thus leading to the death of army corporal Hong Zhongqiu (洪仲丘). The president said, however, that crisis can offer opportunity, and the armed forces should take advantage of this chance to amend unreasonable systems and inappropriate methods. In fact, he noted, the military since late July has already reformed disciplinary measures, grievance procedures, and the system for non-commissioned officers. He added that reforms are also being carried out that will combine military law with the civil judicial system.
President Ma furthermore stated that at the end of July, military prosecutors brought charges against 18 career and non-commissioned officers. Then, during a transit stop in New York City on August 12, he signed amendments to the Code of Court Martial Procedure passed by the Legislative Yuan. The president said that even though he was overseas at the time, he still fulfilled his constitutional responsibility of promulgating the amendments, adding that he did not delay the institution of the amendments by even a second. President Ma stated that part of the amended provisions took effect on August 15, and the case involving corporal Hong was moved from a military court to the Taiwan Taoyuan District Court. In addition, he noted, the Executive Yuan has also established a grievances committee to handle citizens' applications for new investigations and retrials of past cases of suspected military injustice. The government has adopted a frank and sincere attitude in addressing any doubts and is working to clarify exactly what happened, the president said. Only by doing this can faith in the military be re-established, he commented.
The president stated that the ROC has a very high quality military by international standards. All members of the military have at least a high school education, and the vast majority abide by laws and regulations, obey administrative rules, and work hard, he said. President Ma commented the public should not lose faith in the military due to a single incident, nor should the armed forces lose their morale.
The president acknowledged that the corporal Hong case has affected the effort to promote an all-volunteer military system, but said the impact has not been too serious. There were relatively few recruits in the first half of this year, he noted, but as students graduate in the second half of the year, the number of those signing up is sure to rise. In any event, he assured, the government will do its best to enhance the quality of the armed forces. He pointed out that the military does not want soldiers to be undertrained due to an overly short period of service. At the same time, the government will do all it can to increase the national defense budget in an effort to create a highly elite force, said the president.
Discussing the need for a clean and competent military, President Ma stated that to boost the morale of the armed forces and to win the trust of the public, the Ministry of National Defense has, in accordance with government policy, established an ethics unit. This unit is working together with the existing monitoring system to prevent abuses and corruption. According to a survey carried out by Transparency International's Defence and Security Programme, of the 82 nations surveyed, Taiwan is one of the nine countries with the lowest risk of corruption in its defense sector. In the government defense anti-corruption index, Taiwan ranked first in Asia and was listed among seven countries in Band B (Low Risk), which included the United States, the United Kingdom, Austria, Norway, Sweden, and Korea. This constitutes a vote of confidence in the efforts of Taiwan's government, the president commented.
President Ma praised the military's outstanding contributions in recent years in disaster preparedness, disaster rescue, and reconstruction. He also commended the armed forces for protecting the nation's fishing fleet after a recent incident in which the Guang Da Xing No. 28 fishing boat was fired upon by a Philippine coast guard vessel in overlapping exclusive economic waters, causing damage to the boat and the death of a Taiwanese fisherman. President Ma stated that in an effort to maintain regional peace, he not only has worked to improve relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, but has also signed a fisheries agreement with Japan. Meanwhile, the dispute with the Philippines has been resolved, he said. These actions have been praised by the ROC's allies and friends, he added. President Ma stated that the ROC is a peace-loving nation, but that the nation's armed forces can never let down their guard and must always be prepared. This is not contradictory, he commented, explaining that "even great nations that frequently engage in war will ultimately perish" and that "even though peace reigns, it is risky for a nation to forget that war is always possible." Consequently, the president noted, the government is implementing a series of armed forces streamlining programs to create an elite force of an appropriate size that features outstanding personnel and high combat effectiveness. President Ma said that this force will act in accordance with the broader strategy of "having a strong defense to serve as an effective deterrence."
On the topic of all-out defense, the president stated that the National Defense Education Act was promulgated in 2006 and the Ministry of National Defense and other government agencies have opened military bases and camps to the public. Camps have also been created in the Spratly and Pratas islands in the South China Sea so the public can better understand the mission of the armed forces in these places, he said. President Ma pointed out that recently the Discovery Channel produced a three-part documentary series entitled Taiwan's Military Elite, and the National Geographic Channel also produced a documentary series on Taiwan’s Elite Warriors: ARP Frogmen. This has enabled the international community to see the strict training and high morale of these forces, he said. The president specially praised the programs and expressed his appreciation to the producers of the shows.
President Ma also personally presented awards to recognize outstanding military personnel as well as persons who have distinguished themselves in the promotion of national defense education. He expressed his gratitude to these individuals for their efforts.
Among those attending the activity were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Secretary-General Jason C. Yuan (袁健生), Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明), and Chief of the General Staff Kao Kuang-chi (高廣圻).