Top Taiwan military official killed in helicopter crash
January 2, 2020
General Shen Yi-ming, the general chief of staff in Taiwan, has been killed along with several other people after a helicopter crash-landed in mountains near Taipei. A rescue mission has been launched.
Five people survived the crash in mountains outside the capital TaipeiImage: Reuters/Yilan County Fire Bureau
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Air Force General Shen Yi-ming, who was Taiwan's chief of general staff, was killed after a helicopter carrying 13 people crash-landed on a mountain on Thursday, according to the defense ministry.
Taiwan's official Central News Agency also confirmed General Shen's death.
"Eight of our colleagues were killed," a military spokesman told a news conference. Five of the people in the crash, including a military reporter, were rescued and sent to hospitals.
The helicopter made an emergency landing in the mountains near Taipei after taking off on a routine mission to visit soldiers in the northeast Yilan country ahead of the lunar new year.
The incident comes a week before Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections on January 11.
President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking re-election, cancelled all campaign activities until Saturday, promising a swift rescue operation.
"We must find out the reason for the incident," President Tsai told reporters in the northeastern county of Yilan. "Most importantly, (we) must ensure the stability of our military and national defense," she added.
General Shen Yi-ming, 63, was responsible for overseeing Taiwan's defense against ChinaImage: picture-alliance/AP/J. Lai
Rescue operation underway
Air force commander-in-chief Hsiung Hou-chi told a news conference in Taipei that it remains uncertain what caused the incident.
"The search and rescue operation continues... We are investigating whether (the cause) was environmental or mechanical... the aircraft's condition is not ideal," Hsiung told reporters.
"We hope everyone can be safe and we should know the results this afternoon," he added.
In a film released by a rescue team and published by Asia's Central News Agency, one survivor from the crash site said a number of people were still trapped inside wreck.
"I can still walk ... Two others near this side have stopped breathing," Air Force Major General Tsao Chin-pin said in the film.
Taiwan has been a de facto sovereign nation since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened the use of force to bring the country back under its control.
Chinese President Xi recently called for a "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan, prompting criticism from Taipei. What is the "Taiwan issue" all about? DW explores the history of the conflict through these photographs.
Image: AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Recapturing vs. liberation
After the end of WWII, the Communist Party of China (CPC) under Mao Zedong pursued a fierce battle against his archrival Chiang Kai-shek, chief of the Kuomintang (KMT) party. Chiang lost and took refuge in the island of Taiwan. For some time after that, Taiwan was the center of propaganda from both sides. The CPC wanted to "liberate" Taiwan, while Kuomintang wanted to "recapture the mainland."
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Letters to 'compatriots'
In the 1950s, the CPC published four "Messages to Chinese compatriots" in Taiwan, which are considered the basis of Beijing's Taiwan policy. In these texts, Beijing warned Taiwan of collaborating with US "imperialists." Military confrontation, particularly artillery attacks, also continued during this time.
Image: Imago/Zuma/Keystone
Beijing replaces Taipei in UN bodies
In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly declared that the People's Republic of China was the sole lawful representative of the country. With this decision, the Republic of China (ROC)/Taiwan was removed from all UN bodies. The frustration of ROC's foreign minister, Chow Shu-kai (right), and his ambassador Liu Chieh is easy to see in this picture.
Image: Imago/ZUMA/Keystone
New Taiwan policy
The fifth and last "message" from Beijing to Taiwan was published on January 1, 1979. The mainland, under the leadership of the reformist Deng Xiaoping ended military operations, announced the development of bilateral ties and promised peaceful reunification. However, Beijing's right to represent China internationally was not to be questioned.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/UPI
'One China' policy
The new orientation of China's Taiwan policy took place as Washington and Beijing got closer. On January 1, 1979, the US and China resumed diplomatic relations, with Washington under President Jimmy Carter recognizing Beijing as the sole legitimate government of the whole of China. The US embassy in Taiwan was remodeled into an institute for culture.
Image: AFP/AFP/Getty Images
'One China, two systems'
Even before meeting US President Carter, Deng Xiaoping had introduced the principle of "one country, two systems," which allowed Taiwan to maintain its social systems even after reunification. However, Taiwan's President Chiang Ching-Kuo did not immediately fall for it. On the contrary, in 1987 he formulated the principle of "one China for the better system."
Image: picture-alliance/Everett Collection
The independence movement
In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan's first opposition party, was founded. At a meeting in 1991, the DPP declared a clause for Taiwan's independence, which stipulated that Taiwan was sovereign and not a part of China.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Yeh
'Consensus of 1992'
In unofficial Hong Kong talks in 1992, representatives of Taipei and Beijing reached a political agreement on the nature of their relationship. Both parties agreed that there was only one China. However, they had different views on what "One China" meant. A year later, the chief negotiators Wang (left) and Koo met in Singapore.
Image: Imago/Xinhua
Bilateral relations
In an interview with DW in 1995, the first democratically elected President of Taiwan and the KMT leader Lee Teng-hui said that all relations beyond the straits of Taiwan would be "defined as relations between states; at the very least, as a relationship of a special kind between states." His formulation was very close to being a declaration of independence.
Image: Academia Historica Taiwan
'A state on every side'
The DPP won the presidential election for the first time in 2000 with Chen Shui-bian, a Taiwanese-born politician who had no connections to mainland China, calling for "a state on each side." It meant that Taiwan should have nothing to do with China anymore. In 2005, Beijing reacted with the Anti-Secession Law, which allowed the use of military force in the event that Taiwan declared independence.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/Jerome Favre
'One China, different interpretations'
After losing the elections in 2000, the KMT adopted a changed formulation of the "Consensus of 1992" in the party's statute, which called for "one China, different interpretations." That is why the 1992 Consensus is still debated in Taiwan. The reason: the negotiators of 1992 did not have an official position.
Image: Imago/ZumaPress
CPC meets KMT
The mainland adopted the "Consensus of 1992" as a political basis for creating a relationship with Taiwan. In the first summit between the two sides since the communists came to power in China, Hu Jintao (right) and Lian Zhan endorsed the "Consensus of 1992" and the "One China" principle.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Reynolds
'The direction is correct'
After KMT's Ma Ying-Jeou won the 2008 presidential elections, both sides continued to come closer. In an interview with DW in 2009, Ma said: "The straits of Taiwan should be a place of peace and security. We have come a lot closer to this goal. Basically our direction is correct."
Image: GIO
Quo vadis?
After the elections in 2016, when President Tsai Ing-wen came to power, the independence movement gained a lot of wind. Tsai disputed the existence of the 1992 consensus and described the "attempt of China to interfere in the political and social development of Taiwan" as the "biggest challenge."
