Sources from the Presidential Office yesterday told the Taipei Times that the tradition of appointing the chief of the general staff to the post of minister of national defense is still the best choice for President Chen Shui-bian (
However, the source stressed that the appointment of military chiefs, including the new minister, the new chief of the General Staff and maybe certain posts of commander, would be finalized next week.
The source also denied a local newspaper report which said that Tsao Wen-shen (曹文生), a 61-year-old retired three-star General, would succeed Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明).
"It is simple to clarify such a rumor. The promotion of military personnel should respect two essential elements: Seniority and rank. Tsao is not satisfying either one," the source said.
"If you want to put Tsao in the post of minister of national defense, it means that you have to force the incumbent Chief of General Staff Admiral Lee Jye (李傑) to retire, which would trigger a large-scale military personnel reshuffle," the source said.
The source's remarks suggested that Lee Jye is still the priority choice to be appointed as new Minister of National Defense, if Tang insists on leaving his post.
The source said that to stabilize morale in military, President Chen still has to emphasize the support from Tang and Lee and, therefore, a small-scale reshuffle is obviously much more appropriate for coping with the situation.
Tang had expressed his wish to resign after the presidential election, however, under the president's persuasion, Tang then promised to stay on in his post until the presidential inauguration on May 20.
Tsao is now serving as Strategy Advisor to the president and once was the chief aide-de-camp to former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). According to the Chinese-language media, Lee and former Minister of National Defense Chiang Chung-ling (蔣仲苓) both recommended Tsao to succeed Tang.
But a senior aide to President Chen yesterday told the Taipei Times that they had not hear of any plans related to Tsao.
"It always happens that military heavyweights who expect to win the president's favor for promotion purposes, reveal their `reliable information' to the media. Through this they try to affect the big boss's final decision," the senior aide said.
"A clear arrangement will be published next week," the aide said, adding that Premier Yu Shyi-kun is taking two days vacation until tomorrow.
Cabinet spokesman Lin Chia-lung (
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