Taiwan Resumes "Anti-Communist" Training for Military

Taiwan's military has resumed "anti-communist" patriotic education courses for its academy graduates after a quarter-century hiatus, the Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday. The ministry cited the growing threat from China after a senior official reported a further increase in Chinese naval activity.

During the Cold War, campaigns warning of the danger posed by "communist bandits" in China were widespread in Taiwan. China's government considers the island its own territory.

However, formal "anti-communist patriotic education" for military academy graduates ended in 2002, when it was renamed "patriotic education".

The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that instruction for military academy graduates had been reinstated because of growing military and infiltration threats from China.

"It is necessary for them to clearly understand national security threats and recognise the military mission of 'why we fight, and for whom we fight'", the statement said.

(Reuters, su)