President Chiang Kai-shek said that the Chinese Communists will be defeated 70 percent by politics and 30 percent by the military. Fu Hsing Kang College (College of Political Warfare) was established in 1951 to make an important contribution to the victory. One of the moving spirits in implementing the Fu Hsing Kang idea was President Chiang Ching-kuo, who was director of the Defense Ministry's Political Warfare Department when the college was founded. Both women (top) and men (bottom) are enrolled at this unique school.
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The College of Political Warfare has enrollment of about 1,800, including 160 women. Graduates go to the Armed Forces as first lieutenants and serve as morale officers and in similar capacities. They also are trained in military science. The school has eight departments: political science, law, journalism, foreign languages, fine arts, music, cinema and drama, and physical education. Equipment is excellent. Applicants must be high school graduates with the final selection by competitive examination. Far left, top, recreation room affords a chance to practice on the ku cheng; center, making music outdoors in preparation for work with the troops; bottom, music department majors must play an instrument. Center left, top left; General Meng Hsien-ting, the commandant, observes calligraphy practice; top right, study in the well-equipped library; center, recreation hall provides a rich variety of activities; bottom, women as well as men must run three kilometers every day. Far right, Top, women have their own beauty shop but the services are performed by classmates and coiffures must be militarily short. Bottom, chess is approved as a game well suited to those who may be involved in military strategy. Fu Hsing Kang is part of a professional system that includes academies of the Army, Navy and Air Force, special schools for non-commissioned officers and preparatory institutions for young people who are thinking of a career in the military.
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When the nation's military parades for the Double Tenth National Day each October, eyes inevitably turn to the smartly dressed and well-drilled cadets of Fu Hsing Kang. Above, the school band in marching array. Below, view of the school, which is situated at the base of Tatun Mountain on the Tamsui River in the Taipei area. Right, top, each student is required to pursue one solo activity and the guitar is popular with both men and women; second, both radio and television are taught through actual practice; third, some of the women stay on at the school to teach their specialties, which can include photography; bottom, dormitories must be spick-and-span in order to pass the tests for cleanliness and neatness.