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Number of generals to be cut by 101: defense minister

ROC Central News Agency

2010/12/02 19:38:49

By Emmanuelle Tzeng & Bear Lee

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) The number of generals in the military will be trimmed by 101 by early 2015, Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu said Thursday.

Fielding questions at the Legislative Yuan's National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, Kao said that the country now has 393 generals out of a total of some 200,000 military personnel and that the number will be reduced to 292 in line with a government effort to streamline the armed forces.

Legislator Lin Yu-fang of the ruling Kuomintang questioned why Taiwan maintains a higher ratio of generals to total military officers than the United Sates, saying the ratio is 0.76 percent in Taiwan at present, compared to 0.43 percent in the U.S. in 2007.

Kao said in response that the 101 generals to be trimmed are all under the jurisdiction of his ministry and that "there is still room" for a further reduction in the number of high-ranking officers, as many generals work for other agencies, including the Presidential Office, the Coast Guard Administration, the National Security Bureau and the Education Ministry.