Ma tells new generals to uphold honor and integrity

As the supreme commander in chief of the nation's armed forces, Ma extended his congratulations to the new generals at a promotion ceremony in Taipei yesterday.

But he also gave the admonition of not allowing deceptive practices to eclipse the luster of the stars, the emblem of the rank of generals for military officers.

Ma's remarks were taken as a response to the alleged rampant scandals in the previous administration led by former President Chen Shui-bian.

Several members of the top brass have come under investigation for buying their promotions and even acting like power brokers to arrange the promotions by charging hefty recommendation fees.

Ma demanded that all military officers maintain honesty and integrity while eradicating deception and fraud.

Two major generals and one civilian official at the National Security Bureau with close ties to the former president were found to have helped cover up the tampering of scores for the English-language tests in 2005 of three colonels who were all later promoted as generals.

Ma also instructed all staff members at the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to make quick responses and clarifications when the media releases inaccurate reports about military affairs.

The number of officers getting promoted this year was much fewer than in previous years, including only two promotions to the rank of lieutenant general and 23 to major generals from full colonels.

Air Force Col. Chen Ching-lung became the first aboriginal military officer flying the Mirage fighter jet to be promoted to a general.

Chen's mother, wife and son were all invited to the ceremony to share the honor.

He stressed that the absolute majority of the nation's military officers have been steadfastly abiding by the rules when faithfully performing their national defense duties.

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