Although he surprisingly beat veteran military leader Ku Chung-lien (
He is, however, expected to be important to incumbent defense minister Tang Fei (
Wu's usefulness to Tang hinges mostly on the fact that he has been working as Tang's right-hand man for more than a year already. In addition, officials say, Wu is a hard-working man and disinterested in power struggles.
FILE PHOTO
According to the rotation rules accepted by the three armed services, the post of the chief of the general staff (CGS) should have been given to Wu two years ago, the defense officials said.
Wu, then navy commander-in-chief, was due to succeed Tang Fei as the CGS after the previous two CGS's, Lo Peng-Li (
But the position was offered instead to army General Tang Yao-ming (
Deprived of the once-in-a-lifetime chance, Wu apparently accepted the arrangement without any grudges and took the vice defense minister post, which is normally reserved for retiring military leaders.
Now, however, Wu stands the greatest chance to win back what he had lost -- to become not only defense minister, but someone who will be for the first time in Taiwan's history more powerful than the CGS.
The status change was mandated by restructuring plans that are to coming into effect over the next few years.
Over the past year, Wu assisted Tang in lobbying for the passage of the landmark Defense Law and Organization Law for Ministry of National Defense (MND) by the nation's legislature.
Despite these efforts Wu never tried to steal the limelight and faithfully served as Tang's aide.
This, observers explained, was why others held the impression that Wu was a man of few words and couldn't be eloquent when answering inquiries from lawmakers.
In Chinese society, Wu is just the kind of person a political leader would want as a right-hand man, analysts say.
With a mild man such as Wu serving as the defense minister, Tang would be able to keep the military under his virtual control even after he becomes the premier, they say.
That's also one of the main reasons why president-select Chen Shui-bian (
With unquestionable cooperation from Tang and Wu, Chen should face much less difficulty when pushing ahead on the military reforms required by law.
It is widely known in the military that Tang Fei was at odds with CGS Tang over the content of the two laws.
If CGS Tang became the defense minister, it would be much harder to promote military reform, analysts said.
But, maybe out of sheer politeness, Tang still recommended CGS Tang as his successor despite the fact that the move would not serve the best interest of the new government.
In addition, Wu's appointment would cause a reshuffle of Taiwan's high-ranking officers.
If Ku Chung-lien -- ex-navy commander-in-chief and now Taiwan's representative to Holland -- assumed the post of defense minister, the relationship between the minister and the premier might not have been as good as Tang would have expected, analysts said.
Ku, considered to be Chen's first choice for the position, had a better relationship with lawmakers and politicians outside the KMT.
But he is older than Tang, and analysts are of the opinion that with his dexterity in public relations he could have possibly outshone Tang.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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