Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen (
In a press release the GIO wrote that Wu's main contribution during his 15 months as deputy minister was promotion of the passage of the landmark National Defense Law and Ministry of Defense Organization Law in January, which for the first time in Taiwan's history placed the military under civilian control.
Wu was awarded the Cloud Banner medal, second class, in a ceremony presided over by Premier Tang Fei (唐飛), Wu's predecessor, at the office of the Executive Yuan yesterday morning.
According to custom, the Cloud Banner medal is given to servicemen in recognition of their defense of the country and whose performance in battle has been exemplary.
Military analyst Liu Wen-hsiao (
"Usually, only out-going defense ministers get a medal of some kind. Ex-defense minister Chiang Chung-ling (蔣仲苓), for instance, was awarded the `Blue Sky and Bright Sun' medal when he left his post, the highest honor for a serviceman," Liu said.
"The possible political motive of awarding the medal to Wu while he is still in office is that Premier Tang wants to demonstrate his full support for his hand-picked successor to push ahead with the military reforms initiated during [Tang's] term [as defense minister in the previous government]," he said.
"The greatest opposition Wu has met and will meet in promoting military reform is from the military command system as represented by the Chief of the General Staff General Tang Yao-ming (
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
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