The US kept the military well-informed of the missile tests that China was to launch prior to the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, KMT Legislator Nelson Ku (
In the book Admiral Ku the Helmsman, Ku said that the missile tests did happen in March 1996, as the US had predicted.
"The information was provided to us in October 1995, during my visit to the US. The US predicted that China would launch some kind of military action to influence the [Taiwan's] presidential elections the following March. They said China was likely to launch a missile every two to three days into the Taiwan Strait and that such missile tests would last for quite some time," Ku wrote.
"The US asked us to take such military intimidation seriously. I reported the message to my superiors after returning to the country.
"The missile tests did happen in the lead-up to the presidential elections as predicted by the US," Ku wrote.
Ku commanded the navy between 1994 and 1997. He is the first of the military leaders who were in command during the crisis to make public the flow of information between the US before and during the crisis.
At a press conference held yesterday to mark the release of the book Ku gave more details.
"Because of the information provided by the US, the military had enough time to prepare for the missile tests," he said.
"We did not worry too much about the missile tests since we knew in advance that they were aimed at influencing our presidential elections. We did not think they would develop into a war," he said.
"The way in which the tests were conducted met our expectations. The only thing out of ours or China's expectations was that the tests did not scare people away from voting for [former president] Lee Teng-hui (
The Taiwan Strait Crisis led to greater trust between Taiwan and the US and some changes in the Sino-US relations, he said.
"The US does not want to see a war in the Taiwan Strait. They take it as their obligation to prevent Taiwan from suffering from any aggression," he said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS