Yen Teh-fa
{{Short description|Taiwanese politician}}
{{family name hatnote|Yen|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Yen Teh-fa
| native_name = {{nobold|嚴德發}}
| image = 嚴德發主任委員.jpg
| caption = Official portrait, 2024
| office = 5th Minister of the Veterans Affairs Council
| term_start = 20 May 2024
| term_end =
| primeminister = Cho Jung-tai
| predecessor = Feng Shih-kuan
| successor =
| office1 = Member of the National Security Council
| term_start1 = 23 February 2021
| term_end1 = 20 May 2024
| president1 = Tsai Ing-wen
| term_start2 = 16 January 2017
| term_end2 = 23 May 2017
| president2 = Tsai Ing-wen
| order3 =
| office3 = 33rd Minister of National Defense
| term_start3 = 26 February 2018
| term_end3 = 23 February 2021
| primeminister3 = William Lai
Su Tseng-chang
| 1blankname3 = Vice Minister
| 1namedata3 = {{list collapsed|title=See list|Shen Yi-ming
Chang Guan-chung}}
| predecessor3 = Feng Shih-kuan
| successor3 = Chiu Kuo-cheng
| order4 =
| office4 = 20th Secretary-General of the National Security Council
| term_start4 = 18 May 2017
| term_end4 = 26 February 2018
| president4 = Tsai Ing-wen
| deputy4 = Tsai Ming-yen
| predecessor4 = Joseph Wu
| successor4 = David Lee
| order5 =
| office5 = 24th Chief of the General Staff of the ROC Armed Forces
| deputy5 = Pu Tze-chun
| term_start5 = 30 January 2015
| term_end5 = 30 November 2016
| predecessor5 = Kao Kuang-chi
| successor5 = Chiu Kuo-cheng
| order6 =
| office6 = 5th Commander of the ROC Army
| deputy6 =
| term_start6 = 16 January 2014
| term_end6 = 29 January 2015
| predecessor6 = Lee Shying-jow
| successor6 = Chiu Kuo-cheng
| order7 =
| office7 = 7th Vice Minister of Armaments of National Defense
| term_start7 = 16 August 2013
| term_end7 = 15 January 2014
| minister7 = Yen Ming
| predecessor7 = Kao Kuang-chi
| successor7 = Lee Shying-jow
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1952|11|14}}
| birth_place = Cianjhen, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| party = Independent
| spouse = Chu Tai-ying
| relatives = Yen Teh-tsai (brother)
| children =
| nickname = "Brother Fa"
| signature =
| allegiance = {{flagu|Republic of China|1949}}
| branch = {{army|Republic of China}}
| unit =
| serviceyears = 1975–2016
| battles = Typhoon Morakot
| rank = 25px General ({{lang-zh|Èrjí Shàngjiàng}})
| module =
| education = Republic of China Military Academy (BA)
Tri-service University (MS)
}}
Yen Teh-fa ({{zh|t=嚴德發|s=严德发|first=t|p=Yán Défā}}; born 14 November 1952) is a Taiwanese politician and retired general of the ROC Army who has served as the minister of the Veterans Affairs Council since 2024. His ancestral home was in Nanjing. He was previously the Minister of National Defense and the secretary-general of the National Security Council. He was the chief of the general staff of the ROC armed forces from 30 January 2015 until 1 December 2016. He was the vice minister for armaments of the National Defense Ministry (MND) from 9 August 2013 until 15 January 2014.
Education
Yen graduated from the Republic of China Military Academy in 1975 and later graduated from the War College of the National Defense University in 1978.
Military career
File:(Cropped) General Yen Teh-fa awarded the Order of Cloud and Banner 嚴德發上將獲頒雲麾勳章.png.]]
In August 2009, Yen joined the disaster relief efforts under the 8th Army Corps following the Typhoon Morakot.{{cite web|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201802230028.aspx|date=23 February 2018|first1=Hsiu-chuan|last1=Shih|first2=Joseph|last2=Yeh|title=Yen chosen as new defense minister for his experience: official|publisher=Focus Taiwan|access-date=26 February 2018}}
In August 2013, Yen was named the vice minister of defense for armaments.{{cite news|last1=Chen|first1=Pei-huang|last2=Huang|first2=Maia|title=Army Gen. Yen Teh-fa named vice defense minister|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201308090038.aspx|access-date=23 February 2018|work=Taiwan News|agency=Central News Agency|date=9 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926030350/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201308090038.aspx|archive-date=26 September 2013}} [https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/2276015 Alt URL]{{cite news|title=General named vice minister|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/08/11/2003569444|access-date=23 February 2018|work=Taipei Times|date=11 August 2013}} He left the post in January 2014, and was appointed the chief of the general staff of the Republic of China Armed Forces.{{cite news|title=Ministry swaps postings|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/01/12/2003581128|access-date=23 February 2018|work=Taipei Times|date=12 January 2014}} Yen retired in December 2016, and was succeeded by Chiu Kuo-cheng.{{cite news|title=Chiu Kuo-cheng appointed chief of the general staff|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2016/11/25/2003659963|access-date=23 February 2018|work=Taipei Times|date=25 November 2016}} In May 2017, Yen returned to public service as secretary-general of the National Security Council.{{cite news|last1=Shih|first1=Hsiu-chuan|last2=Yeh|first2=Joseph|title=Yen chosen as new defense minister for his experience: official|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201802230028.aspx|access-date=23 February 2018|agency=Central News Agency|date=22 February 2013}} In February 2018, he was named minister of national defense in place of Feng Shih-kuan.{{cite news|last1=Shih|first1=Hsiu-chuan|last2=Yeh|first2=Joseph|title=Taiwan replaces foreign minister, China policy chief (update)|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201802230022.aspx|access-date=23 February 2018|agency=Central News Agency|date=23 February 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Shih|first1=Hsiu-chuan|last2=Yeh|first2=Joseph|title=Government reshuffle lineup announced|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201802230016.aspx|access-date=23 February 2018|date=23 February 2018}} His term was extended in February 2020 due to the ROCAF UH-60M crash with high-rank officers including Chief of the General Staff, General Shen Yi-ming, deceased.{{Cite web|title=為什麼一天到晚在傳國防部長嚴德發要下台？|trans-title=Why are there always rumors that Minister Yan is stepping down? |url=https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E7%82%BA%E4%BB%80%E9%BA%BC-%E5%A4%A9%E5%88%B0%E6%99%9A%E5%9C%A8%E5%82%B3%E5%9C%8B%E9%98%B2%E9%83%A8%E9%95%B7%E5%9A%B4%E5%BE%B7%E7%99%BC%E8%A6%81%E4%B8%8B%E5%8F%B0-010319055.html |first=Lala|last=Zho|date=10 January 2021 |access-date=1 February 2022|publisher=CredereMedia|via=Yahoo! News|language=zh-tw|location=Taipei}} In February 2021, Yen was named a consultant to the National Security Council.{{cite news |last1=Su |first1=Yung-yao |last2=Lee |first2=Hsin-fang |last3=Chin |first3=Jonathan |title=Tsai changes up Cabinet |url=https://taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/02/20/2003752541 |access-date=20 February 2021 |work=Taipei Times |date=20 February 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Liu |first1=Kuan-ting |last2=Wen |first2=Kuei-hsiang |last3=Mazzetta |first3=Matthew |title=Taiwan names new defense, intelligence, China affairs heads (update) |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202102190025 |access-date=19 February 2021 |agency=Central News Agency |date=19 February 2021}} He formally joined the NSC on 23 February 2021.{{cite news |title=New MAC minister eyes end to impasse |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2021/02/24/2003752768 |access-date=14 March 2021 |work=Taipei Times |date=24 February 2021}}{{Cite web|title=嚴德發「降轉」國安諮委？ 黃創夏諷：當然是「升級」！過年要說好話...|trans-title=Was Yen "demoted" to NSC? Commentator Huang: It's the (Lunar) New Year, so we surely congratulate as a promotion... |url=https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2021-02-20/538931 |first=Yifei|last=Zhang|date=20 February 2021 |access-date=1 February 2022|publisher=Newtalk News|language=zh-tw|location=Taipei}}
Legacy
On 6 January 2018, Yen criticized the PRC's unilateral decision to activate the north-bound airline of M503 Flight Route as unilaterally changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and severely impacting the peace and stability in the East Asian region.{{Cite web|title=China vs. Taiwan - controversy over flight route M503 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/china-vs-taiwan-controversy-over-flight-route-m503/a-42430594 |author=Chiu Bihui |date=2 February 2018 |access-date=28 December 2021 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |location=Taipei}}{{Cite web|title=中國新航路 國安會批衝擊東亞和平|trans-title=National Security Security Council criticizes China's new Flight Route as an attack impact on the East Asian Peace |url=https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/focus/paper/1166277 |author1=李欣芳 |author2=施曉光 |date=6 January 2018 |access-date=28 December 2021 |publisher=Liberty Times |language=zh-tw |location=Taipei}}
On 29 March 2018, a lady guest to a military base posted a selfie inside the classified Boeing AH-64 Apache cabin to Facebook, which exposed the {{ill|Apache Helicopter Scandal|zh|阿帕契打卡案}}. Further investigation on the host helicopter pilot, Lieutenant-colonel Lau, revealed multiple incidents of corruption and security breaches associated with the 601 Brigade of the {{ill|ROC Army Aviation and Special Forces Command|zh|陸軍航空特戰指揮部}}, which led to 20 officers being either prosecuted or sanctioned. Yen became the first Chief of the General Staff receiving a demerit in the ROC Armed Forces history.{{Cite web|title=李蒨蓉登阿帕契 10星37顆花共20將校受懲|trans-title=Janet Lee boarded AH-64E; 20 high-rank officers receives administrative penalties |url=https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201504080532.aspx |author=呂欣憓 |date=8 April 2015 |access-date=28 December 2021 |publisher=|via=|language=zh-tw|location=Taipei}}{{Cite web|title='Apache helicopter scandal' officers to be impeached |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2015/07/08/2003622542 |author=Jason Pan |date=8 July 2015 |access-date=28 December 2021 |publisher=Taipei Times|location=Taipei}}
On 3 October 2018, MP Freddy Lim, former Director of the Amnesty International Taiwan, inquired in a hearing session of the Foreign and National Defense Committee in the Legislative Yuan for re-investigation on the Lieyu massacre files in the military archive to render an apology to the victims' families through the Vietnamese Representative Office,{{Cite news|url=https://www.upmedia.mg/news_info.php?SerialNo=75977 |title=【19屍20命】浯島文學首獎探討「三七事件」小金門的殺戮時代|trans-title=Top Prize of the Wudao Literacy Award for the Research on March 7 Incident,the Killing Era in Lesser Kinmen |date=23 November 2019 |access-date=27 December 2021 |newspaper=Up Media |language=zh-TW |location=Kinmen}}{{cite web|author=Guan Ren-jian|title=國軍屠殺越南難民的三七事件|trans-title=ROC Army Massacre Vietnamese Refugees in March Incident |url=http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/kuan0416/post/1304293327 |publisher=PChome News|date=7 March 2008 |access-date=27 December 2021 |language=zh-TW}} but Minister Yen disagreed, claiming that troops followed the "SOP" of the Martial Law to execute the orders, and had been court-martialed. Later, the MND followed up to state that "It has been too difficult to identify the deceased due to the long time, hence (the case) can not be processed further". This served as the sole statement of the government of the Republic of China on the case since martial law was lifted in 1987.{{Cite web|title=會議隨選 |url=https://ivod.ly.gov.tw/Play/VOD/108535/300K |author=外交及國防委員會 |date=3 October 2018 |access-date=27 December 2021 |publisher=立法院議事轉播IVOD網路多媒體隨選視訊系統 |trans-title=Proceedings Broadcast of the Foreign and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan, IVOD Network Multimedia Video System |location=Taipei |language=zh-tw}}{{Cite web|title=立法院公報第107卷第81期委員會紀錄立法院第9屆第6會期外交及國防委員會第3次全體委員會議紀錄 |trans-title=Foreign and National Defense Committee Records No. 3, Legislative Yuan Gazette, Vol. 107, No. 81, Legislative Yuan Term 9, Session 6 |url=https://lci.ly.gov.tw/LyLCEW/communique1/final/pdf//107/81/LCIDC01_1078101_00006.pdf |author=林昶佐委員、嚴德發部長 |date=3 October 2018 |access-date=27 December 2021 |publisher=立法院公報第107卷第81期 |language=zh-tw |location=Taipei}}
References
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{{Executive Yuan Officials|state=collapsed}}
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