Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) The Republic of China military has found no evidence to suggest that mainland Chinese troops will make any move against Taiwan in the runup to the island's next presidential race, a military official said on Wednesday.
Tang Yao-ming, chief of the general staff, said the ROC military has not detected any movement by mainland Chinese troops targeting Taiwan ahead of the election slated for March 18, 2000, and called on the people of Taiwan to rest assured in the information provided by the military.
Under the principle of safeguarding national security, Tang said that the military will always keep the public up to date on the latest information on mainland Chinese troop movements, and stressed that the ROC military is prepared for any possible move by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Tang made the remarks at an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan.
In answer to a question about a mainland Chinese public opinion poll showing that a majority of mainland Chinese people are in favor of military action to take Taiwan, the chief of the general staff said that the survey formed part of Beijing's "trick verbal attacks" on Taiwan with the aim of disrupting the island's social order.
Responding to another question on whether the military has changed its strategy to defend Taiwan against the potential mainland military threat, Tang replied that the ROC armed forces remain committed to safeguarding Taiwan, Kinmen and Matsu.
Although communist China is unable to launch an invasion of Taiwan at present, Tang pointed out that Beijing has greatly stepped up its aggression in information warfare against Taiwan in recent years, which poses a big threat to the island.
He also warned that mainland China is likely to achieve military supremacy in the Taiwan Strait in 2005 if Taiwan fails to implement its military buildup program as scheduled. (By Flor Wang)
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