Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) has decided to attend discussions regarding Taiwan's defense issues that will be held in the US early next month. Tang has decided to attend the private meeting despite the fact that he has not yet received a formal invitation to the event, a high-ranking defense official said yesterday.
"Whether Minister Tang can attend the meeting is up to the US government. He is waiting for an answer from the US government," the official said.
"Tang is strongly inclined to attend the meeting since he thinks it will help promote Taiwan's relations with the US," he said.
"Under the circumstances, Tang does not care too much about the fact he has not got a formal invitation from the US-based private organization which is to host the meeting," he said.
"Tang has so far received only an informal invitation sent to him via fax. It is not polite to ask a minister to attend a meeting via fax."
The meeting that Tang intends to attend is the "defense summit" conference to be held in Florida by the US-based US-Taiwan Business Council, a private institute, between March 10 and March 12.
The meeting will focus on topics related to Taiwan's defenses, such as arms procurement and equipment upgrades.
Chief of the General Staff Admiral Li Chieh (
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