China strongly reacted to Taiwan's recent revival of "anti-communist patriotic education" for military academy graduates, slamming the move as "an act that turns back the clock of history."

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Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, strongly criticizes Taiwan's revival of anti-communist education during a regular press briefing on July 8. / Courtesy of Xinhua News Agency via Yonhap News

During a regular press briefing on July 8, Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, addressed a question regarding the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense’s recent decision to reinstate anti-communist patriotic education for military academy graduates. "The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities are injecting anti-communist ideology into military academy graduates, encouraging them to fight for Taiwan independence and the DPP," Chen said, claiming the move is an intentional effort to escalate cross-strait confrontation.

Chen also repeatedly emphasized the legitimacy of his own party, asserting that "the Communist Party of China is the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and the core leading force that liberated China from a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, driving economic development and social stability."

He went on to warn that "Taiwan independence is a dead end, and pursuing independence through military force is a path to self-destruction," urging Taiwanese citizens to "clearly recognize the hidden motives and dangers of independence-seeking separatist forces and refuse to become sacrifices or cannon fodder for Taiwan independence."

Furthermore, Chen added that people should "stand on the right side of history and the great cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, oppose Taiwan independence separatist activities and foreign interference, and jointly promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the unification of the motherland."

Prior to this, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense stated that it decided to bring back anti-communist patriotic education to instill a sense of mission in service members regarding "why they fight and who they fight for," amid China's escalating military threats against Taiwan.

During the Cold War, the Taiwanese military provided anti-communist and mainland-recovery education to military academy graduates. However, following democratization around the 1990s, the curriculum shifted toward national security-centered education, leading to the official abolition of programs bearing the "anti-communist" label in 2002. Consequently, this latest decision marks the reintroduction of the term "anti-communist" into the training curriculum for the first time in over 20 years, making a strong backlash from China entirely expected.

                                                                                                           Hong Soon-do