Michael Tsai (
The handover ceremony took place yesterday morning behind closed doors.
Ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) told reporters that Minister without Portfolio Huang Hwei-chen (黃輝珍) chaired the ceremony.
He said Tsai held his first meeting as defense chief in the ministry shortly after the ceremony.
Lee decided on Saturday to resign for failing to smoothly carry out an order to establish an arms company Taiwan Goal, incurring doubts and controversy along the way.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) had planned to be the largest stakeholder in the arms company at 45 percent.
Tsai is the former vice minister of national defense.
Tsai, 67, who has a doctorate from the California Western School of Law, served as a legislator for two terms and as a deputy representative to the US.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) confirmed the existence of Taiwan Goal on Feb. 15 following a report by the Chinese-language China Times that it had been established.
Since then, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have accused the government of seeking to make a profit from the arms trade.
In a new development, the KMT caucus yesterday said it may organize a "truth investigation committee" to probe arms procurement projects related to the company should the Cabinet fail to disband it by Friday.
"Michael Tsai has been appointed new Minister of National Defense for the remaining three-months of [President Chen Shui-bian's (
Fai alleged that the company may sign under-the-table arms deals if it is allowed to exist.
"We must warn Chen's government to take care of the company as soon as possible or [the caucus] will exercise oversight of the firm by establishing a truth investigation committee," he said.
The fact that 45 percent of the newly established arms dealership's initial capital would come from the ministry had sparked speculation from the KMT that the government would seek to profit from the company's arms trading.
The KMT had also alleged that the legislature would not be able to supervise operations of a private arms company.
Opposition lawmakers also alleged that Vice Premier Chiou I-jen (
During his administrative report to the legislature last Friday, the premier defended Cabinet policy by saying that Taiwan Goal would not be disbanded.
However, the Cabinet announced a sudden halt to government investment in the company on Saturday while Lee surprised many by resigning.
"In terms of Taiwan Goal's establishment, we hoped the government could control it while the legislature could supervise it ... but the company did not live up to these two principles," Fai said.
During a visit to the caucus later yesterday, Tsai said the premier had pointed out that Taiwan Goal would be disbanded soon, but "the disbandment must follow certain legal procedures."
Tsai said he could not promise disbandment of the company by Friday because he did not have decision-making power.
Nevertheless, Tsai said Taiwan Goal will not seek to exist by assuming under-the-table operation or changing the title of the company.
In response to the KMT's proposal, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
But he said it is ridiculous that the KMT wanted to probe a company that had not even begun to operate.
DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德) said that the DPP insisted a private arms company could help promote the nation's defense industry.
He said that he believed the KMT opposed the company only to gain political mileage from the company during the presidential campaign.
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