Tang Fei (; born 15 March 1932) is a retired

ROC Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based i ...

general. He served as the

premier of the Republic of China The Premier of the Republic of China, officially the President of the Executive Yuan (Chinese language, Chinese: 行政院院長), is the head of the government of the Republic of China of Taiwan and leader of the Executive Yuan. The premier ...

between May 20 and October 6, 2000, under the

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 ...

government of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

(DPP), even though he was a member of 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 ...

(KMT).

Biography

Tang Fei was born on March 15, 1932, in

Taicang Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineates ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

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 ...

. He enrolled in the Chinese Air Force Preparatory School at the age of 12 and graduated in 1950. He later studied at the

Republic of China Air Force Academy The Republic of China Air Force Academy (CAFA; ) is the service academy for the air force of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is located in Gangshan District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History Mainland China The Republic of China Air Force Academy ...

from which he graduated in 1952. He completed advanced military education at the Air Force Squadron Officers' Course in 1963, Air Force Command and General Staff College of the Armed Forces University in 1971, and the War College in 1979. He served in a wide range of combat, staff, and overseas positions during his military career, starting as a pilot from 1953 to 1960, then moving to operations officer from 1960 to 1961, flight leader from 1961 to 1965, and squadron commander from 1968 to 1970. As his first overseas assignment, Tang was posted to the ROC embassy in Washington as assistant air attaché from 1972 to 1975. Upon returning to Taiwan, he served as chief of the operations section of the Third Wing from 1975 to 1976, and later was group commander from 1976 to 1978. From 1979 to 1982, he was again posted abroad, this time as armed forces attaché in the ROC embassy in South Africa. Back in Taiwan, he served as wing commander from 1983 to 1984 and Air Force deputy chief of staff for pPlanning from 1984 to 1985. In 1985, Tang was appointed superintendent of the Chinese Air Force Academy, and was later promoted to director of the Air Force's Department of Political Warfare, the position that he held from 1986 to 1989. Senior General (ROCAF) Tang Fei 空軍一級上將唐飛

Senior General (ROCAF) Tang Fei 空軍一級上將唐飛

In 1989, he first served as commanding general of the Combat Air Command and then vice commander-in-chief of the ROC Air Force from 1989 to 1991. He was then appointed director of the Department of Inspection of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) from 1991 to 1992, commander-in-chief of the ROC Air Force from 1992 to 1995, and vice chief of the general staff (executive) from 1995 to 1998. In 1998, he was promoted to four-star general and chief of the general staff. He became the first military officer to answer questions during interpellations at the Legislative Yuan. In 1999, he retired from the military, upon his appointment as minister of national defense, a civilian position. Tang was not only responsible for essential military equipment and personnel modernization programs, but he was also instrumental in formulating the new National Defense Law and the Organization Law of the Ministry of National Defense, which reorganized and streamlined the military command structure, giving the MND more authority over the General Staff Headquarters. On March 29, 2000, president-elect

announced that Tang had been chosen as premier to head the new cabinet.Choice for prime minister shows shift to moderation.
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

.'' March 30, 2000. He served as premier until his resignation four and a half months later on 3 October. , - , - , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tang, Fei 1932 births Living people Harvard Kennedy School people Hoover Institution people Republic of China Air Force personnel Air force generals Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan Politicians from Suzhou Premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan Taiwanese Ministers of National Defense Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Taiwanese people from Jiangsu People from Taicang