Lai Warns Taiwan Cadets Against Chinese Espionage
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- President Lai Ching-te told a June 30 graduation ceremony at Fu Hsing Kang College that cadets must resist China's "infiltration, division, sabotage, and espionage" targeting Taiwan's armed forces.
- Lai urged graduates to "establish a clear awareness of friend and foe" and reject "threats and temptations" in order to defend the nation's sovereignty and security.
- Lai insisted the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China "are not subordinate to each other" and called on cadets to oppose communism and guard against infiltration.
- Taiwan has reported an increased number of Chinese espionage cases in recent years, particularly within the armed forces, according to the article.
- China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and its military operates daily around the island, the article notes.
- Fu Hsing Kang College, now part of the National Defence University, was founded in 1951—two years after the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan—to train officers in political warfare and instill anti-communist ideology.
- Diplomats from Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Jordan's de facto ambassador attended the ceremony, linking the graduation to Taiwan's small circle of formal diplomatic allies and Cold War-era military partners.
Why it matters: By choosing a college historically devoted to anti-communist political warfare as the venue, Lai frames countering Beijing's espionage as a frontline military duty rather than a purely intelligence matter. The presence of diplomats from Taiwan's handful of remaining formal allies turns the graduation into a stage for projecting resolve to international partners watching China's escalating pressure campaign.
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