Lee Jye (; born 6 June 1940) is a former defense minister of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
.
Biography
He was born in
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
on 6 June 1940, and fled to
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
with family at the end of the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
.
He originally joined the then ruling
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
in the early days of his military career, but was later expelled by the KMT, who lost power after the 2000 presidential election, for complying with President
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
's orders to remove all
Chiang Kai-shek statues
Chiang Kai-shek statues ( or ) are statues of the late Republic of China (ROC) President Chiang Kai-shek. They are found almost everywhere in Taiwan, from parks to schools to military bases, and are usually made of a bronze alloy, although ...
from military bases.
He was quoted saying "I'll obey the order of the party that is in power" and "if KMT holds power again, they can re-install the statues if they wish."
He was the minister of the
Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China
The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (MND; ) is the ministry of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for all defense and military affairs of Taiwan. The MND is headed by Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng.
History
The MND wa ...
, and was a Senior Admiral in the
Republic of China Navy
The Republic of China Navy (ROCN; ), also called the ROC Navy and colloquially the Taiwan Navy, is the maritime branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF).
The service was formerly commonly just called the Chinese Navy during World Wa ...
when he retired.
References
1940 births
Living people
Republic of China politicians from Tianjin
Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan
Taiwanese Ministers of National Defense
Recipients of the Order of Brilliant Star
Expelled members of the Kuomintang
Chinese Civil War refugees
Taiwanese people from Tianjin
Republic of China Navy admirals
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