Wuchiu, Dec. 26 (CNA) Republic of China President Chen Shui-bian visited Wuchiu Wednesday and instructed the troops garrisoned on the tiny outlying island to remain on guard to prevent mainland Chinese infiltration.
Accompanied by Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Tang Yao-ming, Chen was the first ROC president ever to visit Wuchiu during his term in office.
The president said that Wuchiu is strategically located between Kinmen and Matsu in the Taiwan Strait and serves as a forward post in the defense of Taiwan that can provide early warning on incoming aircraft.
Instructing the officers and soldiers stationed on the island to heighten their awareness and step up their combat readiness, Chen warned that mainland China has continued to refuse to renounce the option to use force against Taiwan and has diverted the results of its economic development into its military modernization efforts, allowing for large-scale advances in its overall fighting prowess.