Exclusive sharp comment | F5 fighter plane crashed, why did Taiwan’s “Chief of National Security” who was once the “Chief of Staff” of the Taiwan military choke?

Qiu Guozheng, Director of National Security of Taiwan

This morning (October 29), an F-5E fighter jet of the Taiwan Air Force crashed into the sea on the coast of Taitung. Although the young pilot Zhu Guanluo parachuted successfully, he was eventually sent to a doctor and died. In this regard, Qiu Guozheng, the current “Director of National Security” of the Cai administration, who had served as the “Chief of Staff” of the Taiwan military, choked at the “Legislative Yuan” in the morning and said that the Taiwan military is facing great difficulties.

Why is Qiu Guozheng crying? Based on his experience as the "Chief of Staff" of the Taiwan military and now as the "Chief of National Security", he should understand the "tragic situation" of the Taiwan military that many outsiders cannot know, as well as the "insiders" that cannot be described in the current island politics and the cross-strait situation. That’s why he concluded that "the Taiwan military is facing great difficulties."

Regarding the cross-strait situation, in the face of the Kuomintang "legislator" Zeng Mingzong's question about "the probability of a full-scale war between the two sides of the strait in the near future", Qiu Guozheng's answer is intriguing. First, he revealed that this probability is “higher than usual”, but he also emphasized that it is not convenient to speak publicly; second, he also revealed that the current cross-strait situation is “definitely tense, and it is obvious to all that Taiwan’s military and intelligence units are paying closer attention. ".

What caused the current tension in the Taiwan Strait? The reason is well known. Not only did the DPP authorities not recognize the "92 Consensus," they also continued to instigate emotional antagonisms between the people on both sides of the strait. "Use force to seek independence." In order to control risks and deter "Taiwan independence" and external interference, the mainland sent the People's Liberation Army to launch a strong attack, escalated military exercises against Taiwan, increased frequency and encrypted cruises in the airspace and sea areas surrounding Taiwan, and continued to fly over the " Strait" of the psychological defense line of "Taiwan independence" elements. Centerline ". Public opinion on the island generally believes that the current situation in the Taiwan Strait is more tense than the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, and the anxiety of the people in Taiwan is permeated.

The current tension between the two sides of the strait is mainly due to political reasons. It is caused by the wrong cross-strait policy of Tsai Ing-wen. Although Qiu Guozheng is the "Director of National Security", he is not Tsai Ing-wen's confidant. According to early analysis by the media, at the end of 2016, Tsai Ing-wen promoted Qiu Guozheng, who was then "Army Commander", to "Chief of Staff". One was that she had just taken office and did not dare to violate the tradition of "prioritization of seniority" in the army; and the other was Qiu Guozheng. With a background of studying in the United States, he can help strengthen the ties between Taiwan and the US military; the third is that after half a year (May 1, 2017) Qiu Guozheng will reach the age of 64 years of retirement, and he will be able to hand over the post of "chief" to Tsai Ing-wen. Li Ximing, who was the really preferred candidate, was from the navy and served as the "Ministry of Defense" and "Vice Minister of Military and Political Affairs" Li Ximing. The same is true of

. Qiu Zhengguo, who has only been in the position of "general chief" for more than 4 months, took over as the "chairman of the retired auxiliary committee" in February 2018 after retiring. In July 2019, due to the outbreak of the “illicit cigarette case” by Cai’s special plane, Peng Shengzhu, the then “Director of National Security” stepped down, and Qiu Guozheng was transferred to the “Director of National Security”.

Tsai Ing-wen seems to be "reusing" Qiu Guozheng, but at best it is only using his military "professional" instead of trusting him personally and politically, and may not be included in Tsai Ing-wen's "political decision-making core circle." Just like Tsai Ing-wen’s appointment of Li Dawei as "Minister of Foreign Affairs" and "Secretary of the National Security Council." In other words, although Qiu Guozheng understands the crux of the current cross-strait tensions, he "cannot speak" in front of Tsai Ing-wen. This may be one of the reasons why Qiu Guozheng was "choked".

The situation in the Taiwan Strait is tense, and the Taiwan military is facing unprecedented pressure. Facing the continuous entry of PLA fighters into Taiwan’s airspace, Tsai Ing-wen’s former military center, Li Ximing, the former “Chief of Staff” of Taiwan’s military, and former “Deputy Commander” of Taiwan’s Air Force, Zhang Yanting, recently agreed that facing the PLA’s “war of attrition”, The Taiwan military "cannot afford it" in terms of the number of fighter planes, personnel rotation, logistical maintenance, and fuel consumption budget, but it has to be exhausted. On average, one PLA fighter plane cruises, and Taiwan needs to send 10 fighter planes to respond. Qiu Guozheng, who also served as the "Chief of Staff", is not clear about this "tragic situation"?

Today, with the crash of the F-5E fighter plane and the death of the pilot, the accident happened with the "Taiwan Army’s 6 aircraft crashes in 5 years", "Taiwan Army’s 6 accidents and 16 lives per year", and "Taiwan Army’s F-5. "Eight crashes of the aircraft in the past 20 years" and other "tragic situations" have been brought up again, and problems such as old models, poor maintenance, and insufficient combat power have all been revealed.

The DPP authorities and Tsai Ing-wen himself know the weak strength of the Taiwan army, but they still have to deal with it every day.The mainland provoked and collided, shouting and screaming. Today, the F-5E fighter plane crashed and the pilot died. Is it not related to the political provocation of the Tsai Ing-wen authorities? Qiu Guozheng's "choking", will there be regret and anger at Taiwan military officers and soldiers being coerced by the DPP authorities and harmed by the "Taiwan independence" forces?