The government plans to station two retired senior military personnel at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington to enhance exchanges, Veterans Affairs Council Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said on Wednesday.
However, the move is dependent upon lawmakers passing draft amendments to the Organization Act of Veterans Affairs Council (國軍退除役官兵輔導委員會組織法) that the Executive Yuan approved on April 30.
Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, Feng said that the two council members were originally scheduled to be sent to the US in September, but now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the move has been delayed, but is likely to take place before the end of the year.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The initiative, estimated to cost NT$15 million (US$500,868) annually, would see the veterans, who are required to be council members, posted to the office’s defense mission, he said.
The two appointees would receive training for their posting, which would focus on building closer ties with their US counterparts and taking care of Taiwanese veterans and their family members living in North America, the council said.
Taiwan has 24 veterans’ affairs organizations in the US and Canada, where an estimated 4,966 Taiwanese live, council data showed.
The pair would also participate in veterans’ affairs activities to improve Taiwan’s visibility on the world stage, especially in terms of the contributions the Republic of China made in World War II, the council said.
One post requires someone who attained the rank of an army or air force colonel or navy captain and served as a military attache or deputy attache overseas.
The council has chosen a retired air force colonel for one of the positions and would ask the Ministry of National Defense to come up with a short list to fill the other post, Feng said.
The project was launched after representatives of American Veterans visited Taiwan last year and called for the establishment of an overseas branch of the council in the US.
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