Even in peacetime, forgetting war is dangerous, but Taiwan will uphold the spirit of those who were on the front lines of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and not cede an inch of territory, President William Lai (賴清德) said in Kinmen County yesterday during an event marking the 68th anniversary of the 823 Artillery Bombardment.
At the rain-soaked event, to commemorate the Aug. 23, 1958, Chinese attack on Kinmen that started the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, Lai expressed his respect and gratitude to the soldiers who, regardless of their backgrounds, united and fought to defend Taiwan proper and Kinmen, Penghu and Lienchiang counties.
Over 44 days, more than 470,000 artillery shells were fired at Kinmen, killing 456 military personnel and 162 civilians, and wounding 1,972 military personnel and 638 civilians. The defense of the islands is regarded as a significant battle that helped safeguard the Republic of China government in Taiwan.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
The victory laid an important foundation for 68 years of peace across the Taiwan Strait and thwarted China’s ambitions to expand its aggression toward the First Island Chain and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, Lai said.
“China has never abandoned its ambitions for expansion over the past 68 years,” he said. “Today, in addition to its increasingly aggressive ‘gray zone’ incursions into waters around waters near Kinmen through its coast guard, China’s military has expanded its provocations from Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, to the First Island Chain and the Indo-Pacific region, threatening not only peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, but also creating unease among Indo-Pacific nations.”
Peace is hard-won, but a peace agreement that sacrifices the nation’s sovereignty and entails submission to would not result in genuine peace, he said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
The government’s defense budget for next year would exceed NT$1 trillion (US$31.4 billion) for the first time, reaching NT$1.12 trillion and remaining above 3 percent of GDP, the president said, adding that the spending demonstrates Taiwan’s commitment to bolstering its self-defense capabilities.
In addition to enhancing military capabilities, the government has continued to improve compensation for military personnel, Lai said.
Since last year, the government has increased the volunteer military, combat unit, air and control, signals intelligence and cyberwarfare allowances. In February, drone units were also made eligible for the combat-unit allowance.
Starting last month, a third category of combat-unit allowance was introduced based on operational requirements and the nature of duties, providing an additional NT$4,000 per month. Conscripts serving in combat units are also eligible for the allowance.
Professional and supervisory allowances for military personnel, civil servants and public school teachers were each increased by NT$2,000, while salaries are to rise by 4 percent across the board beginning in January next year.
The increase next year would be the fifth pay raise for military, civil servants and public school teachers over the past decade, demonstrating the government’s support for those groups, Lai said.
All of the government’s efforts are aimed at providing greater defense resources and better benefits to support every service member who helps defend the country, he said.
“If Taiwan was able to prevail 68 years ago, despite difficult circumstances, by uniting civilians and the military and defeating a larger force, then today, 68 years later, people should be even more united in supporting the armed forces and national defense,” he said.
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Facts Only
* President William Lai spoke in Kinmen County on an event marking the 68th anniversary of the 823 Artillery Bombardment.
* The bombardment occurred on August 23, 1958, when China attacked Kinmen, initiating the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.
* Over 44 days, more than 470,000 artillery shells were fired at Kinmen.
* The attack resulted in 456 military personnel deaths and 162 civilian deaths, along with 1,972 wounded military personnel and 638 wounded civilians.
* Lai asserted the defense of the islands safeguarded the Republic of China government in Taiwan.
* Lai claimed the victory secured 68 years of peace across the Taiwan Strait and thwarted China’s aggression toward the First Island Chain and the Indo-Pacific region.
* Lai stated that China has continuously pursued expansionist ambitions over the past 68 years, including incursions into waters near Kinmen by its coast guard and expansion into the First Island Chain.
* The government's defense budget for the next year is projected to exceed NT$1 trillion (US$31.4 billion), reaching NT$1.12 trillion, remaining above 3 percent of GDP.
* Allowances for volunteer military units, combat units, air and control, signals intelligence, and cyberwarfare were increased since the previous year.
* A third category of combat-unit allowance, providing an additional NT$4,000 per month based on operational requirements, was introduced last month.
* Professional and supervisory allowances for military personnel, civil servants, and public school teachers were each increased by NT$2,000.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative pivots on the assertion that historical defense actions establish a moral and strategic imperative for current national policy, linking past sacrifice to present security concerns in the Indo-Pacific. The structure deploys a classic rhetorical move: invoking shared historical suffering (the bombardment) to build contemporary unity and justify heightened military spending and self-defense posture. This pattern suggests an attempt to frame domestic resource allocation as a moral obligation rooted in historical necessity rather than pure geopolitical calculus.
The narrative simultaneously addresses external provocations—China's expansion into the First Island Chain and the Indo-Pacific—and internal strengthening, demonstrated by budget increases and improved compensation for service members. The assertion that peace agreements sacrificing sovereignty are not genuine requires examination regarding the definitions of sovereignty and security in this context; is the appeal to historical sacrifice an effective tool for persuading citizens to accept a specific security trajectory?
The juxtaposition of internal reforms (increased benefits) with external threats (China's 'gray zone' incursions) creates a framework where domestic investment is presented as the necessary corollary to external vigilance. The invocation of unifying the populace through defense suggests a pattern seeking to consolidate domestic support by emphasizing collective identity forged in conflict, potentially overlooking internal divisions regarding the costs and priorities of that defense.
Bridge Questions: How does the framing of historical sacrifice influence the willingness of the public to accept current economic costs associated with increased defense spending? What other historical narratives regarding sovereignty and territorial claims are suppressed when focusing solely on the successful defense narrative? Does emphasizing unified support for the armed forces necessarily mitigate internal disagreements about foreign policy priorities?
Sentinel — Human
The text functions as a composite political report, smoothly integrating official statements, statistical data, and ancillary news items, indicating a human journalistic structure rather than pure synthetic generation.