The army yesterday said that it would discipline 601st Air Cavalry Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Lao Nai-cheng (勞乃成) for wearing a NT$2 million (US$63,891) integrated helmet and display sight system (IHADSS) and a full flight suit to a Halloween party in October last year.
The Ministry of National Defense called Lao a disappointment and vowed to impose a harsh punishment after it was revealed that Lao — one of the nation’s first AH-64E Apache attack helicopter instructors trained in the US — took the helmet-mounted display used with the helicopter to a Halloween party.
The news came only a day after the military announced disciplinary action against Lao and other high-ranking officers at the Army Special Forces Command for taking a group of 20 people — including showbiz personality Janet Lee (李蒨蓉), members of her family and friends — into a restricted area at the brigade’s headquarters, where they posed around and inside Apache helicopters. The incident came to light after Lee posted four photos from her visit on Facebook.
Photo provided by a member of the public
The Chinese-language Apple Daily yesterday reported that Lao’s wife, Chiu Ya-ching (邱雅靖) hosted the Halloween party at her home last year and that most of the guests were also on the controversial tour last week.
That Lao wore a flight suit and IHADSS at the party was revealed when Joyce Chang (張婉愉), an Audi Taiwan board member, posted photographs of Lao at the party on Facebook.
Chang deleted the pictures after they were publicized.
Ministry spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) yesterday said that Lao’s actions were inappropriate and that he was a disappointment, adding that Lao damaged the image of the armed forces.
Lo said the ministry has asked Army Command Headquarters to launch an investigation, severely penalize Lao and discipline others at the brigade.
Each IHADSS unit costs NT$2 million and enables pilots to search for and shoot targets without having to look down at cockpit instrumentation. Lee and her husband are the only people in the nation to have been seen wearing the helmet publicly besides Apache pilots and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Army Command Headquarters later yesterday issued a statement saying that it has verified the incident and that it would discipline all service members involved, including Lao.
The army also plans to refer the case to prosecutors for further investigation, the statement added.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS