The National Security Council yesterday issued a statement dismissing a flurry of speculation about the abrupt resignation of National Security Bureau director-general Lee Shying-jow (李翔宙) on Tuesday night.
Some media reports regarding Lee’s resignation were “incorrect,” the council said, adding that “there was no reason other than health issues” leading Lee to resign.
The council said on Tuesday night that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had approved Lee’s resignation after he cited health problems.
Ma appointed Lieutenant General Yang Kuo-chiang (楊國強) as Lee’s successor.
According to the Chinese-language Apple Daily, Lee was diagnosed with stage 3 oropharyngeal cancer in May and has been undergoing treatment that is scheduled to end next month, but it was because Lee did not have intelligence regarding Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) visit to the US in late May that Ma approved his resignation.
The Apple Daily said in a report yesterday that Lee did not stay up to date with media reports to inform Ma and council Secretary-General Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) about what Tsai was doing during what was widely reported as a successful visit to the US.
The Chinese-language United Daily Evening News and online news portal Storm Media both reported that Kao was behind Lee’s resignation.
Kao has been on bad terms with Lee since Kao served as minister of defense, the United Daily Evening News reported.
In 2013, Kao tried to forestall Lee’s promotion to chief of general staff, it said.
Lee was forced by Kao to tender his resignation for health reasons early this month, but Ma at that time wanted Lee to stay, the report said.
The United Daily Evening News reported that Lee did not tender his resignation on his own initiative and was forced to resign by Kao.
The council’s statement said the reports were “groundless.”
Tsai yesterday called on the government to clearly explain the real reason for Lee’s sudden departure.
“I do not know the exact reason Lee resigned, but the government should explain clearly to the public why the bureau’s head has quit,” Tsai said.
“The job of the bureau and the secret service is to defend the nation, not to engage in political spying or collecting information about political parties, triggering injustice in elections or national instability,” she said.
Presidential Office spokesperson Charles Chen (陳以信) said that Tsai should not exploit Lee’s health issue for her own political gain.
The national security system during the Ma administration has never engaged in gathering intelligence on politicians or political parties in the other camps, Chen said.
As chairperson of the leading opposition party and a presidential candidate, Tsai should present evidence when she makes allegations, Chen said.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
UNDER WATCH: Taiwan will have to establish a standardized nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus and monitor its spread, the CDC said The Langya henipavirus, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, has been discovered in China, with 35 human infections reported so far, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, adding that the nation would establish a nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus. A study titled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China” that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday said that a new henipavirus associated with a fever-causing human illness was identified in China. The study said an investigation identified 35 patients with acute infection of the Langya henipavirus in China’s Shandong
MISSILE PATHS: Certain information on the Chinese missile fire was not disclosed to maintain secrecy over military intelligence-gathering capabilities, the MND said Military experts yesterday speculated on the implication of the government’s tight-lipped response and the lack of air-raid sirens during the first day of China’s military drills the previous day. On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan, a day after US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from the country, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that China fired nine missiles toward Taiwan, including four that flew over Taiwan proper. However, China’s exhibition of force failed to terrorize the local populace, because
If any war were to break out between the US and China, one trigger might be the increasingly frequent fighter jet encounters near Taiwan. Almost every day, Taiwanese fighter pilots hop in their US-made F-16s to intercept Chinese warplanes screaming past their territory. The encounters probe the nation’s defenses and force the pilots on both sides to avoid mistakes that could lead to a crisis that spins out of control. “I didn’t know whether they would fire at me,” said retired colonel Mountain Wang, recounting a tense five-minute confrontation he had with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jets more than a decade
INCREASINGLY EMBOLDENED: China can no longer be dismissed as inexperienced, demonstrating an ability to coordinate land and sea missile systems, an expert said Beijing’s largest-ever exercises around Taiwan have offered essential clues into its plans for a grueling blockade in the event of an attack on Taiwan, and revealed an increasingly emboldened Chinese military, experts said. The visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi — second in line to the presidency — sparked outrage from Beijing, which launched vast military maneuvers around the nation, even at the risk of partially exposing its plans to the US and its Asian allies. Mobilizing fighter planes, helicopters and warships, the drills aim to simulate a blockade of Taiwan and include practicing an “attack on