The Republic of China (ROC) Military Academy’s Kaohsiung base yesterday held a parade to celebrate its 95th anniversary.

The parade, presided over by Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa , opened with flybys by army helicopters, including OH-58D scout helicopters, AH-1W Super Cobras, AH-64E Apaches and UH-60M Black Hawks.

The navy’s CH-47SD Chinook transport helicopters and S-70C helicopters and the air force’s Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team in AT-3 jet trainers also took part in the celebration.

Soldiers from the army’s 333rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade and cadets from army, air force and navy academies paraded on the ground.

The brigade was chosen for the parade because its predecessor was one of the founding units of the Whampoa Military Academy, which preceded the ROC Military Academy, the ministry said.

The Whampoa Military Academy was established by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in China’s Guangzhou Province on June 6, 1924, to build a modern military.

Following the Chinese Civil War, the academy in 1949 relocated to Kaohsiung and was renamed the ROC Military Academy.

The ceremony was attended by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu , a graduate of the academy.

Han, who is seeking the KMT’s presidential nomination, said he was excited to attend the event as a graduate and as mayor of the host city.

Meanwhile, in Taipei, three other KMT presidential candidates — Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou , former Taipei county commissioner Chou Hsi-wei  and National Taiwan University professor Chang Ya-chung  — and KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih  attended a banquet organized by academy alumni to celebrate the anniversary.

Former New Taipei mayor Eric Chu , who is also vying for the party’s nomination, did not participate in any of the anniversary activities.

President Tsai Ing-wen  also did not participate in this year’s celebrations. She presided over the academy’s 92nd anniversary celebrations in 2016.