China's airforce far behind: general

The Chinese air force has 500 more years of development before it will be a match for its Taiwanese counterpart, air force commander-in-chief General Li Tien-yu (李天羽) claimed yesterday.

"The Chinese air force claims it will catch up with the Taiwan air force by 2005. I don't think so. I don't think they will be able to achieve the goal by 2500 if we continue to progress," Li said.

Li made the remarks yesterday as he delivered an address in a celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Aug. 14 air victory, in which the ROC air force shot down nine of 18 Japanese aircraft that were bombing Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province in eastern China.

The celebration took place at the headquarters of the air force, attended by air force leaders and officials of various rank.

The celebration was initially off-limits to the press, but a cable television station was allowed to get in after negotiations with the air force.

Li's remarks about China being unable to compete with Taiwan in air strength by 2500 were greatly publicized by the cable television station, starting with hourly reports that began at noon.

The report was initially considered to be a misunderstanding of Li's comments, but television footage repeated again and again on the cable television channel each hour showed that Li did say "2500" rather than "2050."

The air force general headquarters admitted that Li did say China might not be able to be match to Taiwan in air strength, even until 2500.

A spokesman for the air force, who preferred not to be identified, said Li might be joking since he has a humorous character.

But television footage did not show any sign that Li was joking about his estimation.

The air force spokesman refused to comment on whether it is proper for the air force chief to compare the military strength of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in a joking way at a formal gathering of the air force.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) also declined to comment on Li's remarks, saying Li has the freedom to express his personal opinions.

Li, who took office on March 1, is widely known for his easy and humorous character. He can get along with people of all kinds, ranging from politicians, journalists, and his subordinates.

Li is considered to be the only candidate to replace Admiral Li Chieh (李傑) as the next chief of the general staff since, according to a decades-old rotation rule, it is the air force's turn to occupy the highest position of the command system of the military after Li's two-year term expires.

But despite the rotation rule, there have been quite a few breaks with tradition.

Former military strong man Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), for instance, occupied the post of the chief of the general staff for as long as eight years, forcing several naval and force leaders who had chances to replace him to retire early unwillingly.