The High Prosecutors’ Office in August arrested a lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh (謝) on suspicion of being recruited by Chinese operatives to defect to China in a Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopter.
Hsieh was reportedly to land on a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy warship when it approached the median line of the Taiwan Strait. After completing his defection, he was to receive US$15 million.
However, prosecutors arrested Hsieh before he could do so.
If he had succeeded, it would have been the first defection since then-major Lien Hsien-shun’s (林賢順) defection in 1989 when he fled in an F-5E jet from his base in Taitung.
As the Aviation and Special Forces Command only has eight CH-47s, they are considered high-value equipment, not to mention that they have extra significance because they are used to carry the national flag over the Presidential Office Building on Double Ten National Day.
The case also involved the leaking of the “0221” confidential project to China, a military strategy overseen by the president.
The events show that the Whampoa Military Academy and its history with the Republic of China (ROC) are being exploited by the Chinese Communist Party to buttress its idea that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are “one family.”
It has been inviting retired generals to lavish parties or golf events in China to develop organizations in Taiwan.
When the Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016, it respected the military by not interfering in its ideology and historical perspectives. This has enabled retired generals to be easily bribed by China, resulting in treason and spying.
The commander in chief has three obligations:
First, establish a military history based on the Taiwanese perspective. By the time Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) retreated to Taiwan in 1949, many of those who attended the Whampoa Military Academy, which was based in Chengdu at the time, either died in battle or surrendered. Those who made it to Taiwan were shunned by the KMT.
The academy should regard former commander-in-chief of the ROC army Sun Li-jen (孫立人), who re-established the academy in Kaohsiung’s Fengshan District (鳳山), as the founder of a new entity and the new site as its inception.
Second, focus should be placed on the modern history of Taiwan, including Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties. People should pay attention to the highlights of modern history, such as the Battle of Guningtou, the 823 Artillery Bombardment, the 814 Kinmen Aerial Warfare, the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis and the Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis last year.
Third, the commander in chief should preside over the anniversary of the academy.
With the anniversary marking the most direct connection between deep-blue factions and China, former presidents Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) regarded participation as an important symbol of their command over the military. This is an aspect of the presidency that even pro-China supporters cannot change.
With the academy to mark its centennial next year, the new president should use the opportunity to shape the discourse, put further emphasis on military education and clarify the history of the academy.
It is high time all ties were cut with China and for the Kaohsiung facility to be regarded as a new beginning for Taiwan’s military history.
Only then can Taiwanese counter China’s “united front” tactics and establish a military history of their own.
Chu-Ke Feng-yun is a military blogger.
Translated by Rita Wang
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
They did it again. For the whole world to see: an image of a Taiwan flag crushed by an industrial press, and the horrifying warning that “it’s closer than you think.” All with the seal of authenticity that only a reputable international media outlet can give. The Economist turned what looks like a pastiche of a poster for a grim horror movie into a truth everyone can digest, accept, and use to support exactly the opinion China wants you to have: It is over and done, Taiwan is doomed. Four years after inaccurately naming Taiwan the most dangerous place on
Wherever one looks, the United States is ceding ground to China. From foreign aid to foreign trade, and from reorganizations to organizational guidance, the Trump administration has embarked on a stunning effort to hobble itself in grappling with what his own secretary of state calls “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” The problems start at the Department of State. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asserted that “it’s not normal for the world to simply have a unipolar power” and that the world has returned to multipolarity, with “multi-great powers in different parts of the
President William Lai (賴清德) recently attended an event in Taipei marking the end of World War II in Europe, emphasizing in his speech: “Using force to invade another country is an unjust act and will ultimately fail.” In just a few words, he captured the core values of the postwar international order and reminded us again: History is not just for reflection, but serves as a warning for the present. From a broad historical perspective, his statement carries weight. For centuries, international relations operated under the law of the jungle — where the strong dominated and the weak were constrained. That
RSS