Vice Minister of National Defense Minister Chen Pi-chao (
One of few civilians qualified to take the job, Chen has come under a barrage of attack from opposition lawmakers, most of whom have questioned his competence as vice defense minister and his pro-independence stance.
At his first appearance at the defense committee of the legislature late in May, Chen looked almost helpless under a strong wave of verbal attacks from KMT lawmakers.
FILE PHOTO: LIBERTY TIMES
Lawmaker Kuo Shu-chun (
Kuo's colleague Lin Nan-sheng (
Lin compared the armed forces under Chen's leadership to "troops in the Southern Sung Dynasty," which he said were totally useless despite the large sums of money the government spent on them.
KMT lawmakers asked Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen (
A smiling Wu said: "It will take some time. But please do give him a chance. I believe he can make it."
From that day on, criticism of Chen by opposition lawmakers has become routine.
Another question lawmakers love to ask Chen is about his attitude toward Taiwan independence.
One lawmaker wanted Chen to openly condemn the independence movement to demonstrate his willingness to follow the anti-independence policy of the military. Chen answered: "It depends on how you define `Taiwan independence.'"
At the June 7 session of the defense committee, KMT lawmakers put a similar question to Chen: "Are you Chinese?"
In reply, Chen said: "I am ethnic Chinese, also an ROC resident. We can agree upon our blood, cultural, and historical links to China. But as the international society talks about `China,' they refer to the PRC, not the ROC."
The orchestrated attacks on Chen appear to have yielded the desired result of painting an unfavorable image of him in the eyes of the general public.
But why has Chen been singled out for attack?
The reasons appear straightforward, according to analysts. Firstly, Chen joined the camp of Chen Shui-bian (
Chen's defection to the Chen camp -- together with many other social and political celebrities -- was considered to have a major impact upon the final outcome of the presidential election.
Among those who offered last-minute help to the Chen camp, Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (
A defense official who declined to be named said that besides the KMT lawmakers, a considerable portion of servicemen also have strong doubts about the vice defense ministers's capability and his political stance.
"We know Chen is quite knowledgeable about defense strategy. But a lot of the time, we don't know what he is talking about," the official said. "And we have been fighting against Taiwan independence throughout our service career. We want to know where are we standing now."
Chen's career in the military sector may go forward or end where he is now, depending on how important he is in the eyes of President Chen, the official said.
Chen Pi-chao may have a chance to become the first truly civilian defense minister, if the landmark defense law and the organizational law of the Ministry of National Defense can be carried out in three years as planned, he said.
Under the two new laws, the position of defense minister has to be occupied by a civilian, not by retired generals.
But the implementation of the two laws has to fit in with the on-going restructuring of the armed forces, known as the "Chingshih Project."
One of the objectives of the restructuring is to establish three vice defense minister positions -- one for the administrative system, one for the command system, and one for the soon-to-be-established weapons and equipment management system, the official said.
If Chen's career is put on hold, then he will remain responsible only for the affairs of the administrative system, the official said. The Chief of the General Staff will be made a vice defense minister in charge of command affairs.
The weapons and equipment management system is scheduled to be headed by a servicemen, with the current vice administrative defense minister, Lieutenant General Tony Sun (
Under the arrangement, the balance of power among the three vice defense ministers will surely go against Chen if he remains in the position he is in now, the official said.
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