Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) yesterday promised to crack down on false accusations after his wife was the object of an alleged blackmail attempt.
The threat came after the minister’s wife was alleged to have received a pearl necklace from a general as a bribe.
“My wife and I never accepted any form of gift for any reason. I am open to any kind of investigation, as long as there is proof to back up the complaint,” Chen said.
Chen made the remarks in response to a story in yesterday’s China Times, which reported that an unnamed member of the military had sought to blackmail Chen’s wife by alleging that she had accepted a pearl necklace from a general as a bribe last fall. Chen did not report the pearl necklace as part of his wife’s and his personal possessions when reporting his personal wealth to the Control Yuan.
Chen said that in addition to refusing all kinds of gifts from fellow military personnel, he had begun to decline visits from military officers at his residence since he became Air Force commander-in-chief.
Also, his wife never participated in any social activities, he said.
“Being clean is my family motto, and I am proud of myself for being so throughout my military career,” Chen said.
The minister said that while blackmail had become common in the military, he personally hated any kind of anonymous allegations or accusations.
“This is so irresponsible,” he said. “This situation is not fair at all. How am I supposed to clear my name?”
The minister said that he welcomed any complaints, allegations or accusations that were backed by proof, even if he himself was the target, but he would file a libel or slander suit against the accuser if the allegation turned out to be false.
“I understand that I have irritated lots of people because of my resistance to corruption, because I crack down on all kinds of bribery as much as possible. I cannot do anything about being hated,” Chen said.
Regarding the prevalence of blackmail in the military, Chen said that investigations would be only launched when complaints were accompanied by proof.
“It would be a waste of resources if we go through every blackmail case,” he said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard