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NATIONAL SECURITY BUREAU TO GET 1ST CIVILIAN DIRECTOR

ROC Central News Agency

2007-02-06 10:48:21
(REPEAT)

    Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) Shi Hwei-yow, deputy director of the National Security Bureau (NSB) , will soon become the bureau's first civilian head.

    The Presidential Office announced Monday that NSB Director Hsueh Shih-min will be transferred to serve as a strategy adviser to the president and that the post to be vacated following his job transfer will be filled by Shi. The personnel reshuffle will take effect Wednesday.

    Up until now, the NSB, the country's top intelligence agency, has been headed by senior officials with military backgrounds.

    Shi, a judge-turned-politician, will be the first non-military NSB chief when he assumes office Wednesday.

    Shi, who has a Ph.D. in law from National Chengchi University, had been a Tainan and Taipei district court judge before joining the quasi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in the early 1990s. During his stints as SEF's deputy secretary-general and later SEF secretary-general and vice chairman, Shi took part in many important rounds of negotiations with Chinese officials to lay down a framework for institutionalized engagements across the Taiwan Strait.

    Shi later served as vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council which charts Taiwan's policy toward China. When the Coast Guard Administration was established in 2004, Shi became its inaugural chief, a post that provided him with further opportunities to deal with the military and intelligence units.

    In February 2006, Shi was "demoted" to serve as NSB deputy chief. The unexpected job transfer caused wide attention at that time. Shi has consistently kept a low profile since then.

    Sources close to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said Shi's "demotion" a year ago was actually an arrangement to prepare him for taking up a heavier duty in the country's intelligence system.

    Many DPP lawmakers have expressed high expectations of Shi's new assignment, expecting him to streamline the country's intelligence operations. They said they are hopeful that Shi's promotion will mark a major step forward toward the goal of having a civilian to lead the country's military.

    In contrast, opposition Kuomintang legislators, including Ting Shou-chung, were skeptical about Shi's qualification and competence, saying they doubt Shi's ability to head the county's mammoth intelligence and security system.

(By Sofia Wu)

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