General Lai Ming-Tang, the 5th Commander-in-Chief (term of office:July 1, 1967 to July 1, 1970)
General Lai is a native of Jiangxi Province, and was born in Shicheng in May 1910. He studied at Jiangxi Provincial Industrial Vocation School at the age of 20. Humiliated by the foreign invasion and the uprising of the Red Army, he turned to soldiering. He graduated from the class of the 2nd Term of the National Aviation Academy, the class of the 8th Term of the Revolution Practice Research Institute, the class of the 2nd Term of the Advanced Military Leadership Training Program, and the US Air Command and Staff College. General Lai was promoted Commander-in-Chief of the ROCAF in July 1968 and then the Joint Chief of the General Staff.
A devoted Christian, General Lai was well-disciplined and educated at very young age. Being an elegant and pragmatic person, General Lai preferred to live a humble and disciplined life with forgiveness and integrity. He was never involved in any bad ha bits and declined unnecessary social gatherings. General Lai loved reading and found joy from the inside. Indeed, the general is a knowledgeable and educated person that deserved to be the teacher and model of young people. His motto was “Confidence and perseverance will determine success in career.” He shared this with his subordinates making them think about the meaning of their lives. In his military career, General Lai emphasized “practice,” and insisted that once a system was established, it must be accomplished to its entirety without reservation. Whenever an order of a vital mission came, General Lai would study and plan thoroughly, and tackled any problems in order to accomplish the mission. A disciple of the Principles of the Three People, General Lai is also a faithful follower of the late President Chiang Kai-Shek in his lifetime. General Lai is a true patriot and just thought about how to serve the country better selflessly.
General Lai was decorated with the ROC State Medal, Cauldron Medal, Sky Command Medal, Loyalty and Service Medal, Rejuvenation Medal, and conferred to Land, Sea and Air Award, Recovery of Mainland Award, City Defense Award, Ranking , Power Declaration Award, Distinguished Service Award, and Model Award, and also the US Liberty Award, Commander Achievement Award, Star of Jordan Medal, Silver Star and Infinity Power of Korea, 1st Class Crown Medal of Thailand, Defense of Vietnam Medal, and Aviation Insignia of Spain.