Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers criticized a retired naval officer who showed up in military uniform at a demonstration led by the pan-blue camp Saturday at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, calling him an opportunist not worthy of respect.
DPP Legislator Chen Chung-hsin (
Liao addressed the crowd posing as an active officer.
He retired from the military in 2001 but was hired shortly thereafter by the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) as a civilian engineer.
Liao's appearance at the demonstration in uniform shocked the military, especially the navy and the institute.
The navy plans to file a lawsuit against Liao for pretending to be an active naval officer, while the institute has decided to give a minor demerit to Liao for his behavior.
DPP Legislator Lee Weng-chung (
At yesterday's defense committee meeting, Chen described Liao as an opportunist and said Liao first contacted him two years ago to request a favor.
"Liao wanted me to arrange a meeting with then deputy defense minister Kang Ning-hsiang (康寧祥) and then National Security Council secretary-general Chiou I-jen (邱義仁). He wanted to brief them on a proposal he made on the management of defense technology," Chen said.
"I did not grant him the favor. But he kept calling me. I got over 50 phone calls from him, even during the Lunar New Year vacation. I was not impressed by his report and I did not think Kang and Chiou would like it," he said.
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