Nelson Ku (; 6 June 1931 – 15 January 2007) was a Taiwanese politician and diplomat. He served 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 W ...

from 1954 to 1997, retiring with the rank of admiral. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2002 until his death.

Military career

Born Shanghai in 1931, Ku attended both the

Republic of China Naval Academy The Republic of China Naval Academy (CNA; ) is the service academy for the navy of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is located at Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History The academy was originally established as the Chinese Naval Academ ...

and the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, and entered the

in 1954. He became close to

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 ...

while serving as deputy defense minister between 1993 and 1994. As commander of the navy, a post he had assumed in 1994, Ku ended the Advanced Combat System, a program devised in the 1980s by Taiwan to develop a smaller version of the American-made

Aegis Combat System The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and it is now produced by Lockheed Martin. Initially used by the United States Navy, Aegis is now used also by ...

. During his tenure, Ku reached an agreement with the United States Navy that allowed the Republic of China Navy use of American rescue vessels, if needed.

Political career

Ku became the Republic of China's representative to the Netherlands in 1997. Chen Shui-bian assumed the presidency in 2000, and due to the friendship between Chen and Ku, it was speculated that Ku would accept an appointment as minister of defense in the Chen administration, a post that went to Wu Shih-wen. After three years as a diplomat, Ku was recalled and expected to retire. However, Ku was named to the People First Party proportional representation ballot in 2001. For accepting the nomination, he was expelled from the

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 ...

. He was strongly opposed to a 2002 proposal to acquire Kidd-class destroyers from the United States, favoring the purchase of Aegis-enabled vessels instead. Ku was critical of a separate plan to buy Standard SM-II missiles for over NT$40 million each. In 2003, Ku published a book about his naval career and joined the Friends of the PFP. The next year, two members of the United States House of Representatives proposed that Taiwan send the

Republic of China Marine Corps The Republic of China Marine Corps (ROCMC; ), also known colloquially as the Taiwan Marine Corps, is the amphibious arm of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) responsible for amphibious combat, counter-landing and reinforcement of the areas under th ...

to engage in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

, a move Ku believed to be unnecessary. He was involved in another discussion about the cost of arms procurement in October, over a set of special appropriations that cost NT$610.8 billion. Ku was again named a PFP at-large legislative candidate for the 2004 elections, and won. In 2005, he voted against an arms procurement bill that sought to fund a $480 billion purchase of eight diesel submarines along with missile batteries and military aircraft, berating the government for its dependence on the United States. Ku was hospitalized in November 2006, and died of lymphatic cancer at Tri-Service General Hospital on 15 January 2007, aged 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ku, Nelson 1931 births 2007 deaths Republic of China Navy admirals Taiwanese people from Shanghai Republic of China politicians from Shanghai Deaths from lymphoma Deaths from cancer in Taiwan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan People First Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Expelled members of the Kuomintang Representatives of Taiwan to the Netherlands United States Naval Academy alumni Taiwanese Ministers of National Defense