Yen Ming (; born 14 November 1949) was the Minister of National Defense of the

Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

from 8 August 2013 to 30 January 2015.

Education

Yen graduated from the Republic of China Air Force Academy in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City ( Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Ka ...

Early career

Upon graduation, Yen worked his way through the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

, serving as a wing commander, president of

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air for ...

, Air Force chief of staff and Air Force deputy commanding general.

ROC Air Force General

ROCAF General Yen Ming Opening Speech in Chiayi Air Force Base Open Day 20120811a

General position appointment

In October 2008, Yen was promoted as the General of the Air Force.

ROC Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff

Chief of the General Staff position appointment

On 3 January 2013, the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

announced that President

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei fro ...

had approved the appointment of Yen to the position of Chief of the General Staff of the

Republic of China Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu ...

. He would replace Lin Chen-yi who was appointed as the military strategy adviser to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

ROC Minister of National Defense

Ministry position appointment

Yen replaces acting Defense Minister Kao Kuang-chi after the sudden resignation of Defense Minister

Andrew Yang Andrew Yang (born January 13, 1975) is an American businessman, attorney, lobbyist, and politician. Yang was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary. He is the co-c ...

, just 6 days after taking his office after the previous Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu's resignation due to the death scandal of Corporal Hung Chung-chiu. The

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan. ...

officially appointed him on 8 August 2013 from his previous post as ROC Chief of the General Staff. Acting Defense Minister Kao Kuang-chi replaces his position as the ROC Chief of the General Staff.

Taiwanese woman abduction in Malaysia

Commenting on the recent abduction incident over a Taiwanese female in

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, Yen said that although the ROC Ministry of National Defense (MND) has the capability of special forces to save the woman, but then those armed forces are reserved for the use of armed conflict between nation, and MND should not step into an international incident which is the ROC

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

(MOFA) should do. Overseas special forces deployment will only be possible if there is a mutual treaty between the ROC and the host country.

Criticism

Disarmaments of the ROC Marine Corps cause Veterans' protests

In mid January 2014, Yen announced that the government plan to cut the number of

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

to below 200,000 personnel by the end of 2019 to adjust the organization and restructure the armed forces, in which the goal is to make ROC military to be small but elite, small but skillful and small but strong.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yen, Ming Living people 1949 births Taiwanese Ministers of National Defense Air force generals Republic of China Air Force personnel People from Yunlin County