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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| ROC military officer receives historic, US medal posthumously |
| 2012-01-09 |
| The China Post news staff--A deceased Republic of China (R.O.C.) military officer will get a U.S. Meritorious Service Medal posthumously for contributing to closer military ties between Taiwan and the United States, reported the United Evening News yesterday. The late Col. Fan Chia-jung, who worked at the Military Intelligence Division of the R.O.C. Army, will be the first R.O.C. military officer to receive such an honor since Taiwan and the United States severed diplomatic ties in 1978. Fan's widow Lee Chia-ling will receive the medal today on his behalf. The medal will be presented by representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan, the evening paper reported, citing the Ministry of National Defense (MND). A graduate of the Chung Cheng Armed Forces Preparatory School and the R.O.C. Military Academy, Fan went on to attend the Virginia Military Institute and graduated second place from his class in 1992. He then studied business at Georgetown University and also got a degree from the U.S. National Defense University. From 2008 to 2010, Fan worked as the Taiwan Deputy Army Section Chief of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United States, performing the functions associated with a military attache. It was his efforts and service during this period that greatly contributed to further understanding between Taiwan and the United States and that got him the Meritorious Service Medal. According to the certificate that accompanied the medal, in his capacity as the Taiwan Deputy Army Section Chief, Fan coordinated visits by the Taiwan Chief of the General Staff and Vice Minister of Defense and facilitated three Defense Policy Talks, which enhanced the level of cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. Army. Fan was remembered by his classmates as a industrious and dedicated student. “He always studied until the middle of the night, and while at the Virginia Military Institute, his grade was just a hair's breadth away from being first in class,” recalled a military officer surnamed Yu who went to the school with Fan. During his service at TECRO, he developed close working relations with officials from other embassies in Washington and was a well-known figure in D.C.'s diplomatic corps, the evening paper reported. His suavity and sociable personality impressed many in the U.S. military, the paper said. Fan is survived by his wife Lee, who is working at a military school, and a son. He died about a year ago, due to what MND said was leukemia. Yet his friends revealed that he died of complications from surgery at the Tri-Service Military Hospital, the paper reported. What is this Tri-Service Military Hospital? Meanwhile, the AIT's bestowing of the honor on Fan has raised the eyebrows of local experts, who expressed interest in the timing of the United States doing so in the lead-up to the presidential election this Saturday. This was the second time in recent days Washington has expressed friendly gestures toward Taiwan. A few days ago the United States was revealed to have briefed the National Security Committee on President Barack Obama's Defense Strategic Guidance. I'm even more clueless than usual here. Why is Obean reaching out to Taiwan? In any case, I thought we already had a pretty decent relationship. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #1 I suspect that he provided some valuable service to US counterintelligence. "Fan worked as the Taiwan Deputy Army Section Chief of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United States, performing the functions associated with a military attache." That has "spy" written all over it. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2012-01-09 07:48 |