Retired admiral Ku Chung-lien (顧崇廉), who had been navy commander-in-chief and deputy defense minister in his day, yesterday became one of the three chairpersons who had been chosen by the Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan to head the committee during the current legislative session.
Ku, a member of the PFP, is the highest-ranked military official to serve as a lawmaker after retirement.
Ku had also been Taiwan's representative to the Netherlands between 1997 and 2000. He became a lawmaker-at-large of the PFP after the legislative elections at the end of last year.
Ku last served in the legislature during his term as the deputy defense minister between 1993 and 1994.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Ku has built ties with Chen since then.
He further strengthened the relationship after he was promoted to the position of navy commander-in-chief in 1994.
He took command of the navy for three years, during which time he had invited Chen to attend important naval events after Chen became mayor of Taipei.
Because of his special ties with Chen, Ku became one of the few military officials friendly to the opposition DPP at a time when the DPP was still condemned by the military for its move toward independence.
These ties had prompted the press to speculate that Ku would become the first defense minister of the DPP-led government after Chen won the presidential election in 2000.
Although Ku did not become the defense minister, his influence was still strongly felt in the military because many of his known followers in the navy -- men like Li Chieh (
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS