Presidential Office formerly housed a secret radio station

The Presidential Office revealed yesterday that it used to house the Kuokuang radio station (國光電台), and that the station was established for the primary purpose of ensuring that the president, vice president and top military personnel would be able to address the nation in the event of war.

It also acknowledged for the first time that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) closed the radio station in 2000.

"The Kuokuang radio station was established for wars and emergency purposes. There are lines connected to the offices of president, vice president, minister of national defense and chief of the general staff, to enable them to talk to the people in the event of war and or other emergencies," said a report published yesterday in President A-bian's Electronic Paper, the president's Web-site.

Presidential Office spokesman James Huang (黃志芳) told the Taipei Times that the office was releasing the previously classified information as part of its effort to educate the public about the post of president and the Presidential Office.

Chen closed the radio station in 2000 as part of a reform of the military and in pursuit of his policy of removing Ministry of National Defense offices from the Presidential Office, the electronic newspaper said.

The station, set up in June 1963, had belonged to the still operational Voice of Han Broadcasting Network, a propaganda station owned by the defense ministry that continues to broadcast to China.

Huang also said that the government believed that there was no longer any need to keep the station for emergency purposes, given the highly advanced current state of communications technology.