Shen Yi-ming (; 30 March 1957 – 2 January 2020) was a

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan (Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, r ...

military officer who served as a

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 ...

general and the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

, Deputy Minister of National Defense for Policy, and Commander of the ROC Air Force. On 2 January 2020, he was killed in a military helicopter crash while on a routine mission.

Education

Shen was born in Shilin,

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

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 no ...

in 1957, with an

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

Yixing Yixing () is a county-level city administrated under the prefecture-level city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province, China, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. The city is known for its traditional Yixing clay ware tea pots. It is a pene-exc ...

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city a ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

. He graduated from the

Republic of China Air Force Academy The Republic of China Air Force Academy (CAFA; ) is the service academy for the air force of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is located in Gangshan District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History Mainland China The Republic of China Air Force Academ ...

in 1979, his general officer classmate included General Wu Wan-chiao (吳萬教) and Lieutenant General Ko Wen-an (柯文安). He graduated from the

Air Command and Staff College The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Uni ...

in 1992 and from the

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operation ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 2002.

Military career

He trained in Saudi Arabia for one year as part of the Peace Bell Program (known as Great Desert Program in Taiwan), active between 1979 and 1990. After the

acquired

Mirage 2000-5 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...

jets from France in the 1990s, he was one of the first Taiwanese pilots to be trained in their operation. Shen held positions in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

such as the Deputy Commander of the Office of the Deputy Joint Chief of the General Staff in Intelligence, Air Force Combatant Command, Deputy Chief of the Air Force Staff, Deputy Minister of National Defense for Administrative Affairs, and served as Commanding General of the Air Force from 1 February 2015 to 1 March 2018.

Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of the General Staff

Shen succeeded Admiral

Pu Tze-chun Pu Tze-chun () is a scholar of Public Management and a former admiral of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) in Taiwan. He was graduated from I-Shou University, receiving a PhD in Public Management studies. He is the 11th Vice Minister of Nation ...

as vice minister of defense for policy in March 2018, serving under

Yen Teh-fa Yen Teh-fa (; born 14 November 1952) is a Taiwanese politician and retired general of the Republic of China Army. His ancestral home was in Nanjing. He was previously the Minister of National Defense and the secretary-general of the National Secur ...

. As vice defense minister, Shen promoted international military exchanges with the United States. In regards to

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, he has stated “We greatly appreciate that the US is willing to review our military sales requests on a case-by-case basis, instead of the bundling approach carried out previously", referring to military exchanges between the US and Taiwan. Shortly after that comment, Taiwan signed a US$330 million deal to upgrade 144 F-16 fighter jets to the F-16V standard. In July 2019, Shen replaced Admiral Lee Hsi-ming as

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 ...

Death

Shen was killed in a helicopter accident on 2 January 2020 in the

Wulai District Wulai District ( Atayal: Ulay; ) is a mountain indigenous district in southern New Taipei City in northern Taiwan. It sits near the border with Taipei and is famous for its hot springs. It is the largest district in New Taipei, as well as the mo ...

New Taipei New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

. The

Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...

Shen was traveling in lost contact with Songshan military airbase at 8:07 AM, thirteen minutes after taking off. The helicopter was carrying three crew, nine officers—including Shen—and a correspondent from the Military News Agency. Seven others of those aboard the helicopter were also killed in the crash, including two Major Generals, while five others were injured and survived. Shen's remains were cremated on 14 January 2020, and buried at Wuzhi Mountain Military Cemetery. A memorial ceremony for the crash victims was held at Songshan Air Force Base on 14 January 2020. On January 3, Shen was posthumously awarded the

Order of Blue Sky and White Sun The Order of Blue Sky and White Sun with Grand Cordon ( Chinese:青天白日勳章 or 青天白日勛章) is the Republic of China's second highest military award. Created in 1929, it is awarded for "outstanding contributions to national securit ...

with Grand Cordon, and promoted to

Full General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

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 ...

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...

. The Ministry of National Defense awarded Shen a National Emblem Medal.

Awards

Order of the Cloud and Banner with Special Cravat *

Order of Loyalty and Diligence Order of Loyalty and Diligence (Traditional Chinese:忠勤勳章) is a military award from the Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in ...

Medal of the Brilliant Light, B-Second Class

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shen Yi-Ming Republic of China Air Force personnel 21st-century Taiwanese people 1957 births 2020 deaths Air War College alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Taiwan Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents National Defense University (Republic of China) alumni Recipients of the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun Chinese generals