A video allegedly featuring retired general Kao An-kuo (高安國) calling on Taiwanese military officers to surrender to China and overthrow the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has sparked outrage and calls for him to be charged with treason.
The video, titled “A message to Taiwanese military officers,” allegedly shows Kao saying: “I call on commanding officers of our military troops to stand up for Chinese nationalism, to take up this duty under heaven’s mandate to save Taiwanese from oppression and terrible suffering.”
Dressed in military fatigues and a beret, the lieutenant general called on officers to overthrow the “fraudulent DPP regime,” and join forces with other pro-China unification political parties and groups “to achieve the sacred mission of unification of the Chinese race.”
According to military records, Kao graduated from the Military Academy in 1966, served as deputy commander of the Taoyuan-based Sixth Army Command and is a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
He was one of the few Taiwanese officer candidates to be sent to the US, enrolling at the Fort Benning US Army Infantry School in 1972. After returning to Taiwan, he finished his officer-training program at the National Defense University in 1978.
Media reports showed that Kao had openly advocated for China to annex Taiwan, urged Taiwanese soldiers not to fight should China mount an invasion and participated in the “China Cross-Strait Military Generals Forum” in Xiamen in December 2014.
DPP Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) yesterday said that Kao’s action amounts to treason, as he openly advocates surrendering to China, which contravenes the National Security Act (國家安全法).
“This video is now circulating on the Internet, working to affect the morale of our military troops and undermine our national security,” Lai said.
“Our judiciary must initiate, investigate and prosecute such an act of treason. Such talks must not be tolerated,” he added. “The justice system and national security agencies must not stand by and do nothing, as if they condone Kao’s treasonous conduct.”
Attorney and former prosecutor Weng Wei-lun (翁偉倫) said Kao could be charged under the Criminal Code for “offenses on inciting persons in armed services not to carry out orders, to desert, or to mutiny,” which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS