Taipei, July 1 (CNA) General Chen Pao-yu officially took office as the nation's chief of the general staff on Thursday, replacing his predecessor Huang Shu-kuang following Huang's retirement.
In a swearing-in ceremony presided over by Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, Chen, a former Army commander, assumed the office of the nation's highest ranking military officer at the defense ministry's Taipei headquarters.
In his address, Chiu praised Chen as a seasoned and decorated military officer who during his time as chief of the ROC Army Command Headquarters drafted a long-term development plan for the Army as well as presiding over its post-disaster rescue and relief operations.
Chiu expressed hope that Chen will use his rich military experience to continue improving the Armed Forces' overall combat preparedness in the face of a rising military threat from China.
According to the defense ministry, born in 1958, Chen is a graduate of the Republic of China Military Academy Class 1980.
He served as commander of the Army's 298th Brigade, deputy commander of the 6th Army Corps in northern Taiwan, chief of the Huadong Defense Command in eastern Taiwan and commander of the 10th Army Corps in central Taiwan before being promoted to Army commander in April 2019.
Chen fills the vacancy left by the departure of Huang, who reached the retirement age of 64 in June.
Meanwhile, Vice Chief of the General Staff Hsu Yen-pu took over the position of Army Commander and Vice Chief of the General Staff Mei Chia-shu assumed the post left vacant by Hsu, according to the ministry.
In other personnel changes, Vice Defense Minister Chang Guan-chung left his post to serve as a military strategy advisor at the Presidential Office.
National Defense University President Wang Hsin-Lung succeeded Chang, while Vice Defense Minister in charge of policy Chang Che-ping (張哲平) took the post left by Wang, the ministry added.
All assignments took effect as of Thursday.
