Navy grew timid in wake of murder

Late Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓), who was murdered nine years ago over what are believed to be attempts to stop an arms scandal, is remembered by the navy not so much for his contributions to the military but for the impact his death has had on the organization.

The impact of Yin's death is reflected most strongly in the navy's lack of courage and determination to push for any new shipbuilding in the years following the murder.

Yin's death is still a mystery. No conclusion can be made as to who killed him or why he was murdered.

The slaying in late 1993 happened at a time when the navy was planning a series of arms-acquisition projects.

A retired navy commander, who had worked at the navy's bureau of planning, said Yin played a key role in these projects.

Yin was the director of the navy's procurement office. He had also served as the chief of the navy's research and development department.

"As Yin took charge of the department, he had many well-educated naval officials working under him. Almost all of these officials had master's degrees. Most of them graduated from the Chung Cheng Institute of Technology like Yin. Only a few were graduates from the navy academy," said the retired commander, who wished to give only his surname, Che.

"These talented officials contributed a lot to the navy. Most of the arms-acquisition projects that the navy is pushing now were the brainchildren of these people. They worked out, over 10 years ago, plans for the acquisition of new diesel-powered submarines, second-generation warships, and P-3C anti-submarine aircraft," Che said.

Mini-aegis

"They were also key to plans to build a mini-Aegis ship, known as the Advanced Combat System (ACS) project. This project was the navy's most ambitious effort to build an advanced fighting ship," he said.

"All these plans were either delayed or shelved following Yin's murder. The navy did not revive the plans for the acquisition of submarines and P-3C aircraft until two years ago. The ACS plan is still on hold," he said.

"Yin's death has caused the navy to be become timid. Navy leaders over the past nine years would rather do nothing and make no mistake than do something that might incur trouble for them," he said.

"Many of Yin's subordinates at the research and development department chose to retire from the navy after the death of their boss because they were no longer needed."

Retired Vice Admiral Lan Ling-li (蘭寧利), who had been the navy's deputy chief of staff and chief of the intelligence bureau, said it is true that Yin's death has dealt a blow to the navy and that its impact is still being felt.

"Many arms-acquisition projects were canceled or put off because of Yin's death. Many talented officials left the navy as a result," Lan said.

"Former defense minister Wu Shih-wen (世文) said that the three years before he took command of the navy were wasted," he said.

The three years Wu referred to were the years that PFP lawmaker Ku Chung-lien (顧崇廉) had served as the navy commander-in-chief.

Shelved project

"It was Ku who decided to shelve the ACS project. Ku said at the time that any arms-acquisition project was not worth trying as long as it had a 1 percent chance of risk," Lan said.

Ex-China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC) engineer Chen Hsiao-ming (陳曉明), who had been in charge of building seven Chenkung-class frigates on the model of the US Perry-class frigate, said the navy missed a good chance for building a high-tech warship -- the mini-Aegis -- just because of the Yin murder.