Chiang Chung-ling (; 21 September 1922 – 18 March 2015) was a Taiwanese army general, former

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

and Vice Chairman of the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party). As Minister of Defense, he called for the use of Sky Horse

missile In military terminology, a missile is a missile guidance, guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously ...

s to rival Chinese M-class missiles. Also, several high-profile military deaths occurred during his term as Minister of Defense. When being questioned by reporters outside the parliament on September 19, 1995, he replied with a rhetorical question, "哪個地方不死人?" ("Where do people not die?"). His reply caused a sensation and public condemnation, and finally he apologized on September 25, 1995. After a

C-130H The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

military

transport plane A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft usually do not incorporate passenger a ...

crashed on October 10, 1997, near Taipei, Chiang Chung-ling resigned as Minister of Defense on October 11 to take responsibility for the crash, in which all five crew members died.

Death

In 2015, he died at

Taipei Veterans General Hospital Taipei Veterans General Hospital () is a national first-class medical center and a teaching hospital that provides tertiary patient care, undergraduate medical education programs and residency programs in Taiwan. It was founded in 1958 and admin ...

, aged 92, of heart failure.

References

{{Authority control 1922 births 2015 deaths Politicians from Jinhua Republic of China politicians from Zhejiang Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan Chinese emigrants to Taiwan Taiwanese Ministers of National Defense People from Yiwu Generals from Zhejiang