President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) decision to assign retired air force officer Mike Tien (田在勱) as chairman of the board at the Taiwan Aerospace Corp (TAC 台翔航太) has raised some eyebrows.
Lin Huang (林桓), deputy chairman of the National Development Council and TAC interim chairman, confirmed the reports on Friday, saying Tien has been nominated as the corporation’s chairman of the board in the upcoming board of directors meeting on Friday.
Tien was the former principal of Republic of China (ROC) Air Force Academy and has experience as an aviation historian.
After retiring from the air force with as a major general, he was promoted by Ma to the rank of lieutenant general and was appointed as the National Security Bureau’s special envoy to the US in 2011.
Tien confirmed that he has been asked to serve as the TAC chairman. However, he declined to comment further on the issue.
Critics have condemned the move as cronyism, since Tien is known to be a “Ma loyalist.”
Some critics said they see it as a cynical move by an unpopular president coming to the end of his term to pack state-related enterprises, which are loaded with high salaries and perks, with his associates and military personnel owing their promotions to Ma.
Tien’s nomination as TAC chairman was also met with opposition in military circles, with some saying that although Tien has a background in aviation history, he has no expertise in aircraft mechanics or in repair servicing, and, as such, it was seen as a pure cronyism to reward him for remaining loyal to Ma and his inner circle.
TAC was founded in 1991 to produce indigenous jet fighters and other aviation contract projects. The state has a 29 percent stake in the company, while 71 percent of the shares are owned by the private sector.
The company was contracted to produce parts and components for the Indigenous Defense Fighter and later became an investment holding company.
The most lucrative asset of TAC is its subsidiary, the Taichung-based Air Asia Co (亞洲航空), which has secured contracts with the nation’s military for repair and maintenance of aircraft, while providing aviation services for international airlines.
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