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 (
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
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