Deputy Chief of Staff Admiral Chen Yung-kang (陳永康) requested that a military delegation handle his private affairs while he attended a US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in the US in October last year, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator said yesterday.
DPP Legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌) said that Chen, who was part of a delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang (楊念祖) to the closed-door forum in Cambridge, Maryland, had asked an assistant naval attache to the US to drive him to Gaithersburg, Maryland, to renew his driver’s license, which was to expire soon.
In addition to asking a naval official to handle his personal affairs, Hsueh accused Chen of leaving the delegation during the visit.
Hsueh, who said Chen’s movements were monitored and recorded by the CIA, asked that the military launch an internal investigation into the matter.
It is likely that Hsueh mistook the CIA for the FBI, as by US law the CIA is not allowed to operate on US soil and does intelligence collection abroad.
Chen, a former military attache to the US himself, still has a driver’s license and bank accounts in the US, Hsueh said.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) said that according to Chen, he used his downtime during the visit to have his driver’s license renewed and those activities did not affect his work.
With Commander of the Republic of China Navy Admiral Kao Kuang-chi (高廣圻) set to complete his term in March, Chen is seen as one of the candidates to succeed Kao.
The annual Defense Industry Conference is the most important private event reviewing US-Taiwan defense and security matters.
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