Minister of National Defense Tang Fei (
With the passage of the new Defense Law (
The minister's remarks were made at a legislative review committee meeting, where Tang answered questions on the draft of the Defense Organizational Law (國?/43?梒揪k), which the committee was scheduled to review.
But the review was shelved after arguments between lawmakers over whether they should first review the Defense Law draft, or else the Defense Organizational Law draft.
Unable to resolve the dispute, the session instead became a question-and-answer session between Tang and lawmakers.
"The aim of the Defense Law is to put both the military's executive system and its administrative system [as represented by the defense minister] under the jurisdiction of the defense minister," Tang said.
"This will help with the long expressed goal of unifying the executive and administrative systems of the military."
"Under the current structure, the defense minister and his ministry are responsible only for certain military affairs linked to the outside. The chief of the general staff and his staff, on the contrary, assume responsibility for most of the administrative, executive and armaments affairs of the military," Tang said.
Tang's statements were an admission of the unequal distribution of power between defense minister and the chief of the general staff, a disparity which has existed for decades but was not broached until now.
The salaries of the two top military leaders clearly reflect the difference in status between the the posts, with the chief of the general staff receiving a salary commensurate with that of a Yuan president, and the defense minister getting the due salary for a minister.
In the Executive Yuan's version of the Defense Law, Tang said, the defense minister would become the actual head of the military, leading the two main administrative and executive branches, as well as a new, third area of responsibility over armaments.
The chief of the general staff, who would become part of the minister's staff, would still have the power to command troops as he does now.
But the new regulations would, in effect, place the chief of the general staff under the authority of the defense minister, Tang said.
"This legal mechanism rests on the minister's authority to issue orders to the chief of the general staff for the execution of training, operation, field logistics and other affairs."
"The minister has the right to revoke such orders. This is how the minister can put the chief of the general staff under his control," he said.
The minister would also have other means at his disposal to control the chief of the general staff, Tang added, such as the use of budgeting and personnel appointment rights special to the minister.
Currently the chief of the general staff answers directly and only to the president.
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