On April 30, President Lai Ching-te presided over the May General and Flag Officer Promotion Ceremony, where he encouraged newly-promoted officers to uphold the core values of national defense through a human-centric approach, and urged them to strengthen national defense by reinforcing defense and security measures. President Lai expressed his hopes that officers would exemplify the qualities of a modern military by implementing increasingly flexible, innovative, and practical concepts - elevating national defense to a whole new level.
President Lai was accompanied by Pan Men-an, Secretary-General to the President; Joseph Wu, Secretary-General of the National Security Council; Wellington Koo, Minister of National Defense; Admiral Mei Chia-shu, Chief of the General Staff; General Lu Kun-xiu, Chief of the Army; Admiral Tang Hua, Chief of the Navy; and Gen. Cheng Jung-feng, Chief of the Air Force while presiding over the General and Flag Officer Promotion Ceremony for May 2025. President Lai noted that these promotions were earned through long-term efforts and dedication to duties and represented an increase in future responsibilities. Thus, President Lai hoped that all officers would hold themselves to higher standards in their future service of the nation.
President Lai first congratulated Chen Jun-yuan and Sun Li-fang on their promotion to Lieutenant General (LTG). President Lai noted that during LTG Chen’s command of the 43rd Artillery Command and Artillery and Missile School, LTG Chen was responsible for overseeing training and combat readiness operations and successfully reinforced the nation’s defense capabilities through his expertise in managing artillery firepower.
On the other hand, LTG Sun had received training in public affairs while attending the US Defense Information School, even being inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2024 - the only Taiwanese officer to be inducted.During his tenure as the Spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, LTG Sun demonstrated his expertise and composure in responding to questions regarding national defense policies, enhancing the military’s image.
Furthermore, President Lai congratulated Huang Ying-fu, Chen Yi-hong, Lei Yong-ci, Yang Yong-bao, Jiang Guo-sian, Wu Jian-guan, Tan Ren-yong, Lin Shang-he, Wang Shih-peng, Li Chang-fu, and Liang Yuan-sheng on their promotion to Major General or Rear Admiral.
President Lai remarked that all officers should completely dedicate themselves to their duties, whether in combat readiness operations, medical services, defense administration, command and communications, or long-range naval patrols, thereby strengthening national defense.In an era of fast-changing geopolitics, Taiwan is under threat from an expanding authoritarian state. Aside from the growing number of grey zone incursions, China has constantly sought to infiltrate Taiwan to steal national secrets and undermine national security.
President Lai noted that in March, he had proposed 17 measures in response to China’s threats to national security, and highlighted how raising security awareness among military personnel was a key factor. President Lai encouraged officers to uphold the core values of national defense through a human-centric approach in each of their respective units and urged them to strengthen national defense by reinforcing defense and security measures.
President Lai stressed that as national defense becomes increasingly important, the government shall continue to implement military reforms, as well as purchase weapons and equipment. Furthermore, he encouraged officers to abandon conventional thinking and to embrace more flexible, innovative, and practical concepts - strengthening national defense with a strong and modern military.
Source: Youth Daily News (2025.4.30)