Taiwan had plans to load miniaturized nuclear weapons into auxiliary fuel tanks of Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jets to attack China, said Chang Hsien-yi (張憲義), who was the deputy director of the First Institute of the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) and who defected to the US in 1988.
Due to the growing military threat from China, Taiwan during the 1980s conducted numerous military projects, including the research and development of mid-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, a nuclear weapons research project and the IDF project, Chang was quoted as saying in a new book that was based on an interview by Academia Sinica associate research fellow Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), who last year went to the US to interview Chang.
Chang, a former colonel, said that the CSIST planned to use the IDF as a bomber because it was developed by Taiwan and its range could be fine-tuned without consulting other nations.
Photo provided by Walkers Cultural Publisher
“We wanted to extend the IDF’s range to 1,000km, as it would also extend the effective range of the nuclear weapon,” Chang was quoted as saying.
The plan was for a pilot — unmarried with no family and not having been told that they would be carrying a nuclear weapon — to fly the aircraft, Chang said.
With a nuclear weapon in the auxiliary fuel tank, the fighter jet would have a range of 800km, Chang said, adding that the pilot would only be told that they would be going on a mission from which they would probably not return.
Photo: Lo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
However, Chang said that the plan put ongoing US support at risk, adding that it was because of Taiwan’s ambitions that the US decided to “put the cards on the table.”
It was also because of this project that the US in 1988 forced Taiwan to shut down all facilities related to the development of nuclear weapons, as well as shuttering a heavy water reactor at the CSIST, Chang said.
When asked about his relationship with the US and the CIA, Chang said he was contacted by the CIA in 1982 and the agency established a task force on Taiwan and nuclear arms after he passed a polygraph test, adding that he would meet with CIA personnel every two or three months near Shilin (士林) night market in Taipei, mostly discussing what the government was purchasing for its nuclear weapons research, or the contents of CSIST or government meetings.
The CIA arranged his exit from Taiwan in 1988 by having a company registered in the US issue him a work visa and a new passport, providing a cover for him to fly from Kaohsiung to Seattle via Hong Kong, Chang said, adding that his wife transferred flights in Japan and met with him in the US.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) yesterday said the decision to develop a nuclear deterrent had spanned military strategy, politics and diplomacy.
The US’ intervention was anticipated and reflective of the US as a hegemonic power, Lo said, but added that the US’ move was inexorably tied to Chang’s defection.
Putting aside the question of a soldier’s loyalty to his nation, and the moral question of developing nuclear weapons, Chang — while having been shielded from the Taiwanese judiciary — will have to answer to history for his actions, Lo said.
Meanwhile, a senior Ministry of National Defense official yesterday said that the nation’s policy regarding nuclear weapons is that “we do not manufacture, own or use nuclear weapons,” adding that since Taiwan does not have nuclear weapons, the possibility of attacking China with nuclear weapons does not exist.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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