The recent declassification of US State Department documents has shed new light on the progression of events that led to the exposure of Taiwan's program to develop nuclear technology. It's a story in which the figure of ROC Colonel Chang Hsien-yi (
Chang was born in Taichung in 1943. After graduating from the military-run Chungcheng Institute of Technology in 1967, Chang began his career at the Institute for Nuclear Energy Research, a division of the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (
He was serving as deputy director of the nuclear research facility when he fled Taiwan on Jan. 9, 1988, just three days before the death of President Chiang Ching-kuo (
According to a military investigation after the incident, CIA personnel at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) arranged for his escape, under the silent consent of Taiwan's security agencies.
Chang allegedly kept his wife Hung Mei-feng (洪美鳳) and children in the dark about his defection. Two days after his escape, a CIA agent -- carrying a letter from Chang -- met his wife and children in Tokyo and escorted them to the US.
Immediately after his arrival in the US, Chang went to a secret Congress debriefing, where he confirmed the breakthroughs Taiwan had made in developing nuclear weapons -- and Taiwan's attempt to hide its nuclear program from US surveillance.
Chang's revelations prompted the US government to take tough action -- to pressure the Taiwan government to destroy its nuclear weapons facilities.
Chiang Ching-kuo's death did not change US pressure, and the Taiwan military finally gave in.
On Jan. 15, the US demanded access to the Institute for Nuclear Energy. Three days later, a team of US experts arrived at the Ching-chuankang air force base in Tai-chung. After a short discussion with Yeh Chang-tung (
After taking some soil samples and making an analysis of the hardware installed there, the US team started dismantling a heavy water reactor.
Within a few hours, the NT$1.85 billion facility and 17 years of research were decommissioned. If the costs for personnel training and software are taken into account, the military lost about NT$3 billion.
Later, Yeh traveled to the US and reportedly reached a consensus with US officials over Chang's defection.
After his escape, the Ministry of National Defense issued an arrest warrant for Chang, but later the Chungshan Institute completed paperwork to "discharge" him from service.
Chou Jen-chang (
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
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SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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