General Chen Xin-Ling, the 10th Commander-in-Chief (term of office: July 16, 1986 to December 5, 1989)

General Chen Xin-Ling, the 10^th Commander-in-Chief (term of office: July 16, 1986 to December 5, 1989)

General Chen was a native of Beiping (now Beijing), and was born in August 1924. His father Chen was a civil servant. Chen was the youngest son in the family of 4 boys and 1 girl. They were well brought up by their mother, Madam Lee. He was an outstanding child with strong wisdom and aspiration, and studied at the Bei Ping 4^th Primary School at the age of 6. After graduation, he continued the education at Normal University Secondary School and Bei Ping Yu Ying Secondary School. He graduated at a time where China was mired in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. A large portion of the national territory was occupied by Japanese forces and there were so many casualties of war all throughout the country. He felt the difficulty of the time and decided to share the cause of saving the country by moving to the government-controlled region and studied aviation engineering at Northwestern Institute of Engineering, and was finally admitted to the class of the 18^th Term of the Air Force Academy to practice flying. He was trained at the US Luke Air Force Base, Jet Aircraft Instruments School, Okinawa High Altitude Physiological Training Program, the ROCAF Command and Staff University, ROC Joint Staff University, Senior Officer Training Program at the War College of National Defense University, and Yuan Shan Military Officer Training Corps. He was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the ROCAF with the rank of Lieutenant General in 1982, and promoted to Deputy Joint Chief of the General Staff at the General Staff Headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense in 1983, and the rank of general of the ROCAF in 1986, then Commander-in-Chief of the ROCAF in July of the same year. He was further promoted to full general and assumed office as the Joint Chief of the General Staff in December 1989.

General Chen was dedicated to the ROCAF for more than 4 decades with outstanding performance and was highly decorated. He was a well-educated person with integrity and respected by all of the forces. General Chen was decorated with 45 medals and awards, including the 3^rd Class Cauldron Medal, Rejuvenation Medal, Celestial Kindness, and Power Declaration, the 1^st Class Independent Award of Jordan, Liberty Medal from the government of Bolivia, and the Distinguished Service Golden Award from the government of Honduras.