Speculation abounds in military circles after President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said on Monday that he expects to see career officers of Aboriginal origin raised to the rank of general in the near future.
The question of who the chosen ones would be has become a hot topic in the military.
There is currently only a short list of Aboriginal officers qualified for promotion to this rank.
Colonel Chen Chin-lung (
Chen, of the Ami tribe in Hualien, is now the section chief of the operations department of the Hsinchu-based Mirage 2000-5 fighter wing. He took the position on Dec. 1, before which he was the political warfare chief of the fighter wing.
When the wing was formally activated in May last year, Chen was one of the pilots involved in the flyover of Mirage planes in honor of President Chen.
Chen had previously been sent to France to receive training for the Mirage 2000-5, which significantly aided his air force career. The air force general headquarters declined to confirm whether Chen is being considered as a candidate for the pending promotions announced by President Chen.
"Promotion issues, especially those involving generals, are highly sensitive in the military. No one will openly discuss it," said a spokesman with the air force general headquarters.
The spokesman admitted, however, that Chen is indeed one of the few Aboriginal officers qualified to become a major-general during this year or during next year.
The army and navy refused to provide any information on Aboriginal officers in their services, but it is said that there are around ten such army and naval officers who might be candidates for the rank of major-general.
In the past, only one Aboriginal officer was known to have climbed to the rank of general, the now-deceased major-general, Kao Wei-ho (高巍和).
Kao died several years ago in a car accident.
The policy to promote Aboriginal officers to the rank of general was not initiated by Chen. It was formulated during the term of former President Lee Teng-hui (
Former defense minister, Tang Fei (唐飛), told the legislature over two years ago that at that time there were around 17 colonels and captains of Aboriginal origin qualified for promotion to the rank of major-general or rear admiral.
The military was at that stage seriously considering putting into practice the Aboriginal equality promotion policy. The military never gave any reasons for shelving the policy.
Opposition from officers of non-Aboriginal origin, who are a majority in the military, is said to be one of the factors that have caused the delay in the execution of the policy.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
VIOLATION OF NORMS: China’s CCTV broadcast claimed that Beijing could use Interpol to issue arrest warrants, which the MAC slammed as an affront to order The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for attempts to intimidate Taiwanese through “transnational repression.” The council issued the remarks after state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) yesterday during a news broadcast aired a video targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), threatening him with “cross-border repression” and saying: “Stop now, or you will be next,” in what Taipei officials said was an attempt to intimidate not only Shen, but also the broader Taiwanese public. The MAC in a statement condemned the threat, accusing Beijing of trying to instill fear and self-censorship among Taiwanese and
RSS