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.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS