The recent declassification of US State Department documents has shed new light on the progression of events that led to the exposure of Taiwan's program to develop nuclear technology. It's a story in which the figure of ROC Colonel Chang Hsien-yi (
Chang was born in Taichung in 1943. After graduating from the military-run Chungcheng Institute of Technology in 1967, Chang began his career at the Institute for Nuclear Energy Research, a division of the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (
He was serving as deputy director of the nuclear research facility when he fled Taiwan on Jan. 9, 1988, just three days before the death of President Chiang Ching-kuo (
According to a military investigation after the incident, CIA personnel at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) arranged for his escape, under the silent consent of Taiwan's security agencies.
Chang allegedly kept his wife Hung Mei-feng (洪美鳳) and children in the dark about his defection. Two days after his escape, a CIA agent -- carrying a letter from Chang -- met his wife and children in Tokyo and escorted them to the US.
Immediately after his arrival in the US, Chang went to a secret Congress debriefing, where he confirmed the breakthroughs Taiwan had made in developing nuclear weapons -- and Taiwan's attempt to hide its nuclear program from US surveillance.
Chang's revelations prompted the US government to take tough action -- to pressure the Taiwan government to destroy its nuclear weapons facilities.
Chiang Ching-kuo's death did not change US pressure, and the Taiwan military finally gave in.
On Jan. 15, the US demanded access to the Institute for Nuclear Energy. Three days later, a team of US experts arrived at the Ching-chuankang air force base in Tai-chung. After a short discussion with Yeh Chang-tung (
After taking some soil samples and making an analysis of the hardware installed there, the US team started dismantling a heavy water reactor.
Within a few hours, the NT$1.85 billion facility and 17 years of research were decommissioned. If the costs for personnel training and software are taken into account, the military lost about NT$3 billion.
Later, Yeh traveled to the US and reportedly reached a consensus with US officials over Chang's defection.
After his escape, the Ministry of National Defense issued an arrest warrant for Chang, but later the Chungshan Institute completed paperwork to "discharge" him from service.
Chou Jen-chang (
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique