Since being diagnosed in June with liver cancer, Chuang Ming-yao, 73, had been in and out of the hospital. Despite their best efforts, doctors at at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital were unable to stop the cancer spread.
"Chuang was a respected man, a very hard-working individual," said Wu Shi-wen (
"If he [Chuang] took as good care of his health as he did with his work, he would still be alive," Wu added.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
On behalf of President Chen Shui-bian (
Yu said that the Presidential Office would help Chuang's family take care of Chuang's funeral arrangements.
Chuang was highly regarded by both Chen and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) due to his military experience and his expertise in Japan-related affairs.
Chuang's career included service as commander of 142nd fleet, the president of the navy's non-commissioned officers' school, the chief-of-staff at Navy General Headquarters, vice minister of national defense and the first Taiwanese ever to hold the position of naval commander-in-chief.
Though Chuang ended his military career by stepping down as naval commander-in-chief after the murder case of naval captain Yin Ching-feng (
In 1996, Chuang served as Taiwan's de facto-ambassador to Japan and when Chen assumed the presidency in May 2000, Chuang was tapped by Chen to return to Taiwan to serve as secretary-general of the National Security Council.
The Yin murder case brought the Lafayette frigate weapons procurement scandal to the surface, during which military officials and arms brokers were jailed on charges including bribery and leaking military secrets.
The murder case, which remains unsolved, had dogged Chuang whenever frequent rumors citing Chuang's relationship to Yin surfaced.
Many believe that Chuang, though not directly involved in the murder, as the navy's top official must have harbored information related to the murder case.
In August of last year, Chen re-designated Chuang to head the Association of East Asian Relations to take advantage of his expertise and relations with prominent figures in Japan.
"Coming from a military background, Chuang made remarkable use of his decision-making and maneuvering skills in dealing with diplomatic affairs," said Chu Wen-ching (
Chu said that through Chuang's effort and diplomacy skill, "he contributed much to the advancement of relations between Taiwan and Japan."
Examples such as the 1998 resumption of air travel between Taipei and Osaka, which had been terminated after the two nations cut diplomatic ties in 1972, as well as the Japanese government's decision to loosen restrictions on Taiwanese tourists' multiple-entry visas, well illustrate his diplomatic capacity.
Chu said that it was through Chuang's lobbying efforts that when Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,
A Control Yuan member yesterday said he would initiate an investigation into why the number of foreign nationals injured or killed in traffic incidents has nearly doubled in the past few years, and whether government agencies’ mechanisms were ineffective in ensuring road safety. Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said in a news release that Taiwan has been described as a “living hell for pedestrians” and traffic safety has become an important national security issue. According to a National Audit Office report released last year, more than 780,000 foreign nationals were legally residing in Taiwan in 2019, which grew to more than
RSS