The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said an Air Force lieutenant who allegedly forwarded pictures of "Air Force One" to his girlfriend was being investigated.
"We have yet to decide how to punish him. However, we had to ground him temporarily because of his emotional state," said ministry Spokesman Rear Admiral Wu Chi-fang (吳季方).
Lieutenant Jen Jiunn-kang (任駿剛) was one of the four pilots who flew F-16s as an escort for "Air Force One" after it took off for the president's trip to Palau on Sunday.
Cameras are prohibited at military bases or during missions. Jen was authorized to carry a camera with him to take pictures of the mission as a record for his fleet.
Jen forwarded the pictures to his girlfriend and she posted the pictures on a blog mocking the president with captions that read: "It's so much trouble to send the devil away," and "It is like eagles seeing off a frog."
"Air Force One" was compared to a "big frog" after its bottom was repainted green in April.
When the blog was first discovered by the press and made public, the military began to investigate the case and the blog was closed down on Monday.
"Although [Jen] was authorized to carry a camera, what he did was controversial. It [his punishment] depends on how the investigators look at his behavior," Wu said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁芳) said that the military was over-reacting.
"If the military wants to punish somebody, it should punish Jen's superior officer," Lin said.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS