Academia Historica has published archives related to former president Yen Chia-kan (嚴家淦), revealing a blueprint of missile development in Taiwan in the 1970s.
Born in 1905, Yen succeeded Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正) as president of the Republic of China (ROC) on April 6, 1975. His term ended, as stipulated by the Constitution, in May 1978. Yen died in 1993.
The publication of Yen’s archives, which covered from 1945 to 1993, is part of the government’s efforts to declassify official documents that had been classified as national secrets and foster greater transparency.
Published at the end of last month by Academia Historica, the archives show that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government of that period had a missile development project codenamed Chang An Plan, with the aim of designing, manufacturing and testing missiles for defensive purposes.
They show that the nation’s diplomatic isolation made it difficult to acquire missile production technology, making it necessary for the government to purchase non-military grade components that it would upgrade for military use.
According to the plan, the government had carefully developed an effective missile system to defend the nation from Chinese fighter jets and battleships, providing comprehensive protection for Taiwan, Kinmen, Penghu and Matsu.
Taiwan was eager to recruit “patriotic” Taiwanese academics from overseas who would work with local researchers to attain the ability to self-produce missiles.
The plan had previously been classified as a “top national secret” and was declassified by the Ministry of National Defense on July 28 last year.
Yen’s archives also include substantial historical data, such as a book written by former Control Yuan member Lei Chen (雷震), which offered suggestions on how to save the nation.
Lei wrote that Chiang should set up a “Chinese Taiwan Republic” (中華台灣民主國) as soon as possible to placate Taiwanese opposed to the KMT regime, adding that the KMT should abandon one-party rule and implement rule of law to protect people’s rights.
Opposed to Chiang serving a third consecutive term as ROC president, Lei was arrested in 1960 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for “covering up for spies and instigating revolt.” Lei died in 1979.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS