Wu Shih-wen

Wu Shih-wen
伍世文
Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China
In office 20 May 2000 – 1 February 2002
Preceded by	Tang Fei
Succeeded by	Tang Yao-ming
Personal details
Born	(1934-07-24) 24 July 1934 (age 90) Taishan, Kwangtung
Nationality	Republic of China
Political party	Kuomintang
Military service
Allegiance	Republic of China
Branch/service	Republic of China Navy
Years of service	1952-2002
Rank	Admiral

Wu Shih-wen (Chinese: 伍世文; pinyin: Wu Shìwén; born 24 July 1934) was the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2002. He was a career military officer, joining the ROC Army Artillery first as a conscript gunner in 1952, then as a Fires Lieutenant in the Taiwanese Navy in 1955, later served as Superintendent of Naval Academy and Commander-in-chief of the Navy. He was considered to be a military and foreign policy hawk, who resisted military reforms and rapprochement with the People's Republic of China. During the Third Taiwan Straits Crisis he was suspected of ordering Amphibious Marines & Coastal Artillery units to stage live fire drills as a response to the PLA Navy's muscle flexing (and in defiance of the government's and the United States' wish for deescalation).^[1]