(Reported by Military News Agency reporter, Li Yi-Hao, Taipei December 23rd)

    In the “Military Education Promotion” Forum organized by the Ministry of Defense today, experts and researchers were invited to provide professional opinions and discuss on the challenges and prospects of military education. The Forum is expected to provide insights for improvements in talent nurturing which will promote the overall qualities of the military and establish a strong basis for military developments. Held in the afternoon at the Armed Forces Officer’s Club, Chief of General Staff Yen Teh-Fa and the ex-Minister of Defense Andrew Yang co-hosted the event and invited the principals of the various Military Academies, Dr. Ma Jen-Kun from National Defense University, Dr. Ding Shu-Fan from Institute of International relations, National Chengchi University and other scholars to present theme reports and engage in discussions.

    During his speech, Chief of General Staff Yen represented the Minister of Defense in expressing his gratitude for the support of the experts and researchers present, and stressed that military education is not only the source of the military might of the armed forces but also the foundation for military capacity building. He also pointed out that as education is a long term effort and there are no shortcuts, the military must predict development trends and stipulate long-term policies that are aligned with other policies and with resource demands so that the long-term effort may bear success. In this forum, experts have conducted discussions on themes such as “Challenges and Vision of Military Academies”, “The Impacts of Low Birth Rate on Military Education”, and “International Military Exchange and Cooperation – Nurturing of Foreign Language Talents”, and exchanged ideas to provide reference for the improvement of talent nurturing of the military.