The armed forces have been put on a higher state of alert since Premier Tang Fei (
"As of 7:40am today, we have not noticed any irregular Chinese military movements in the Strait. I assure the public everything is fine," General Tang said.
Although Tang acknowledged that the armed forces are now on a higher alert, he emphasized they are just keeping a closer watch on military movements across the Taiwan Strait, without raising the actual level of alert.
"We have raised our vigilance against the Chinese military according to relevant rules. We have not raised the level of alert," Tang told the legislature's Defense Committee yesterday.
There are five levels of alert employed by the military to indicate different stages of combat readiness.
During normal periods, the level of alert stays between "four" and "five." As the situation gets more tense, the level will usually be raised to "three" and maybe to "two" or "one."
Levels "two" and "one" indicate preparation for war and war, respectively.
General Tang said that it was President Chen Shui-bian (
"I received the order on Tuesday night after Premier Tang Fei obtained President Chen's approval for his resignation during a meeting between the two at the presidential office," General Tang said.
"Acting upon these orders, the armed forces have enhanced their monitoring against the Chinese military across the Taiwan Strait," General Tang said. "After a night of intensive monitoring, we have found nothing irregular."
Meanwhile, General Tang declined to respond to inquiries from the press over whether a Cabinet reshuffle would affect his position.
General Tang said that as the leader of the military forces, he was not in a position to comment on any personnel change in the military administrative system.
A military analyst, who declined to be identified, said it was only a matter of time before General Tang succeeds Wu Shih-wen (
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