f generals who have been sued for occupying official residences after they have retired. MND deputy minister Chu Kai-shen said that currently eighteen high-ranking military officers, including some generals, are undergoing litigation for illegally occupying government property.
He refused legislator Hsueh Ling’s request yesterday to publish the names of the officers, saying that as the issue of land ownership remains unresolved, the ministry must protect the defendants’ privacy.
The ministry yesterday reported that it is working to relocate over 1,648 officers and their families residing near military bases around Taiwan for illegally occupying government property.
Legislator Chang Sian-yao suggested that the ministry should build residences on some of its open land that is being returned to the Ministry of Finance’s National Property Administration to accommodate the officers that are being relocated.
Meanwhile, Chu defended the MND’s plan to use armored vehicles to transport the president and other government leaders to safety in the event of an attack from mainland China.
Chu said that the military will evacuate the president and other government leaders to a location in Taoyuan County in armored vehicles if mainland China launches an attack.
During yesterday’s National Defense Committee session, Kuomintang legislator Lin Yu-fang said that a convoy of armored vehicles can be easily spotted by mainland China’s satellites and destroyed by mainland weapons.
“No other country uses this plan to evacuate their leaders,” Lin said.
Chu responded by saying that the plan was part of the ministry’s preparations for mainland China’s strategy of securing victory on its first strike on Taiwan, which may involve targeting the locations of the president and other government leaders.
Despite the armored vehicles’ conspicuousness, Chu said that the ministry “took into consideration covert mainland China workers operating in Taiwan” in choosing the military transports.
Lin said that the ministry may be overreacting.
“So you are saying that Taiwan will be like Iraq, where militants shoot at convoys with bazookas?” he said.
Lin criticized defense minister Lee Jye for the ministry’s way of thinking.
“Ever since Lee Jye took over the MND, the entire ministry’s way of thinking is a problem,” said Lin.
Lee was expelled by the Kuomintang after going ahead with President Chen’s orders to take down statues of Chiang Kai-shek from public places.
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