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Retired general denies making controversial 'China's army' remark

ROC Central News Agency

2011/06/09 21:33:04

By Chen Yi-wei and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 9 (CNA) A retired Taiwan general denied Thursday that he had made controversial remarks that had reportedly "saddened" President Ma Ying-jeou, saying he was "chilled" by the media reports on the matter.

Hsia Ying-chou, a retired air force general and former president of National Defense University, was reported to have said on June 5 in China that no distinction should be made between the Republic of China (Taiwan) Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China since they were both "China's army."

The report created a political storm in Taiwan, with government leaders and lawmakers across party lines scrambling to condemn "whoever made such a remark."

But in a telephone interview with the CNA from Shijiazhuang, in China's Hebei Province, Hsia said that during the reported exchange of views between retired generals of Taiwan and China on June 5, he had "not uttered a single word."

If someone wants to attribute the controversial remark to him, Hsia said, this person must produce a witness and specify the time when the statement was made.

"They cannot just put words in someone's mouth," he told CNA. "I will not accept that."

The drama began with a Chinese media report that quoted People's Liberation Army Major General Luo Yuan as saying a retired Taiwan general had made the "China army" remark during a gathering of retired generals from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait on June 5.

The next day, a Taiwan newspaper followed up by quoting some organizers of the gathering as saying that it was Hsia who had made the remark during an informal chat on sidelines of the gathering.

The newspaper said Hsia could not be reached for comment, but that it had contacted Luo, who said he had not seen any (Chinese) news report to that effect.

President Ma was "flabbergasted" to learn of the reported remarks, which, though yet to be confirmed, have left a bad taste among the people in Taiwan, according to his spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi.

The president said that retired generals planning to visit China must make their itineraries "transparent."

However, Hsia said he could not have reported his plans before his departure to China because the government had not assigned an agency to handle such information.

"Which part of my schedule was not transparent? It has been very much transparent all along," he said.

If President Ma would like to see him when he returned to Taiwan, Hsia said, he would be more than pleased to tell the president everything, including the details of the exchange program with the Chinese military.

He advised the government not to "act like a blind man feeling his way around an elephant" before the basic facts about the matter were known.

In his phone interview with the CNA, Hsia said he was "chilled" by the reports on the issue.

He also said that it was not the Ministry of National Defense (MND) that had tried to dissuade him from making the trip to China, as was reported in the media, but rather the National Security Council (NSC).

"If they did not want me to go, they should have told me earlier," he said. "The NSC did not say anything until I was about to leave."

"One has to be a man of his word, " Hsia said, referring to the fact that he had been invited to China for an arts show and other activities and had been asked to bring 19 paintings.