Introduction: The Armed Forces of the Republic of China (ROC)

Abstract

This offers an introduction to the ROC army with a focus on its influential role in post-revolution society, the retreat to Taiwan, and its transformation over the decades. Originally called the National Revolutionary Army at its inception in 1925 in China, it was renamed the Republic of China Armed Forces in 1947. Since 1949, the force’s primary goal was the ROC government’s objective of retaking the mainland (China) from the Communists. As a result of its history, the military has long been regarded by most Hokkien-speaking Taiwanese (those whose ancestors moved to the island from the 17th century, as opposed to the so-called Mainlanders who arrived from mainland China in following the 1949 KMT defeat at the hands of the Communists) as being the “KMT army.” The extent to which this perception persists is very much of interest when determining the civil–military relationship in Taiwan. Thus, conditions exist for low popular regard for the military, especially as regards a military career. There exists a situation in which Taiwan society has moved forward, both economically as well as politically, from dictatorship, through democratization, and into a truly open and free society dedicated to fairness and equality, and yet the security situation remains unchanged, with the threat of invasion remaining ever-present. As a result, the military tasked with confronting this threat has remained one of the largest social organs on the island resistant to change.

Citation

Karalekas, D. (2018), "Introduction: The Armed Forces of the Republic of China (ROC)", Civil-Military Relations in Taiwan, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-479-420181001