MNA

Vice Minister for Armaments Chung Shu-ming presided over the assumption of office ceremony for the Director-General of the Medical Affairs Bureau today. He encouraged the Medical Affairs Bureau, under the leadership of its new Director-General, Lieutenant General Chen Yuan-hao, to continue advancing four key priorities: strengthening medical resilience, enhancing healthcare quality, sustaining research and innovation, and expanding international exchanges. Through these efforts, he expressed hope that the Bureau would further improve the quality of military healthcare services and medical support operations. The assumption of office ceremony for the Director-General of the Medical Affairs Bureau was held this morning at Bo’ai Camp. During the ceremony, Vice Minister Chung first read the appointment order, after which Lieutenant General Chen took the oath of office and formally assumed his new position. Vice Minister Chung stated that Director-General Chen graduated from the National Defense Medical Center, Class of 1994, and earned a Doctor of Medical Science degree. Throughout his career, he served in several key positions, including Director of the Health Protection Division of the Medical Affairs Bureau, Superintendent of the Songshan Branch of Tri-Service General Hospital, President of the National Defense Medical Center, and Superintendent of Tri-Service General Hospital. Having previously served as Deputy Director-General of the Medical Affairs Bureau, Director Chen was promoted to Director-General and concurrently advanced to the rank of Lieutenant General. Vice Minister Chung noted that Director-General Chen’s extensive professional expertise and leadership experience would enable him to build upon the Bureau’s solid foundation and continue enhancing the quality of military healthcare services and medical professionalism. Vice Minister Chung pointed out that President Lai Ching-te recently presided over the inauguration ceremony of the Emergency and Critical Care Building at the Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital and affirmed the Ministry of National Defense’s commitment to safeguarding the health of service members and their dependents. He also noted that the transformation of the National Defense Medical Center into National Defense Medical University demonstrated the military medical system’s significant achievements in talent cultivation, medical education, and military medicine development. Vice Minister Chung emphasized that healthcare and medical support services constituted an essential component of the Armed Forces’ overall logistics system. From disaster response exercises and environmental sanitation maintenance within military units to battlefield triage, casualty treatment, and field medical support operations, all relied on the close cooperation of military medical personnel and medical units. He further noted that medical professionals serving in military hospitals and units at all levels provided daily healthcare and wellness support to service members, making important contributions to sustaining morale and maintaining combat readiness. Finally, Vice Minister Chung encouraged military medical personnel to continue upholding the spirit of serving service members and safeguarding the medical rights and interests of their dependents. He urged them to continuously improve the quality of healthcare services, keep pace with future developments in military medicine, integrate military operational requirements with civilian medical resources, and strengthen military medical technologies and capabilities. Through these efforts, he said, the military medical community would continue providing strong support for the Armed Forces’ combat readiness missions and achieve even greater success in the future.

On presiding over the inauguration ceremony of the “New Medical Building” at the Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital today, Vice Minister of National Defense General Chung Shu-ming emphasized that the completion of this building symbolized an overall upgrade in medical services in Taiping area, enabling local residents and service members to enjoy the highest quality and most comprehensive medical care at the Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital. Vice Minister Chung, accompanied by Navy Administrative Deputy Minister of Vice Admiral Huang Yu-min, Medical Affairs Bureau Director-General Lieutenant General Tsai Chien-sung, presided over the building inauguration ceremony this morning. After receiving a briefing, Vice Minister Chung offered guidance on enhancing medical capacity. Vice Minister Chung pointed out that “holistic patient care” as its core principle, the new Medical Building fully incorporated smart green building to optimize medical workflows and operational spaces. The hospital featured modular operating rooms and intelligent nursing stations equipped with digital electronic whiteboards, smart bedside cards, and bedside service systems, creating a safe and efficient medical environment. Since 2016, the Ministry of National Defense has promoted the “Soaring Medicine Project,” and the results are now evident. The completion of this new building represents an important milestone in the military medical system’s modernization and smart healthcare transformation. During the inspection of the new building, Vice Minister Chung interacted cordially with military medical personnel and specially encouraged them with the mottos “history, responsibility, mission,” urging them to inherit the excellent tradition, shoulder the responsibility of caring for comrades, and take safeguarding public health as their highest mission. Vice Minister Chung reminded military medical cadres, “Military medical personnel should treat patients as family,” whenever service members suffer major injuries or illnesses, the entire military feels deep sorrow, and therefore he expects the military medical system to play a pivotal role in providing the most timely and professional medical assistance. In addition, during his remarks at the ceremony, Vice Minister Chung praised Lieutenant General Tsai Chien-sung, Director-General of the Medical Affairs Bureau, who was to retire with honor on February 1. Vice Minister Chung referred to Director-General Tsai as his “good classmate” and stated that during his more than three years as Director-General, he led sustained improvements in the military medical system, achieving a balance between “field military medicine in combat theater command” and “civilian medical care” in both peacetime and wartime, making indispensable contributions to military medicine. Vice Minister Chung invited all attending guests to give Director-General Tsai a warm round of applause on the spot, publicly commending his noble spirit of dedication to medical practice. Vice Minister Chung retraced Director-General Tsai’s tenure, during which he not only promoted the transformation of the National Defense Medical Center into National Defense Medical University, established forward surgical teams, and deepened exchanges with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command for talent cultivation, but also, with a spirit of “selflessness and dedication,” let the world see Taiwan’s medical technology. He encouraged all personnel to inherit this spirit and jointly build resilient, high-quality medical capabilities.

The Deputy Minister of National Defense, General CHUNG SHU-MING, visited the Kaohsiung area today to inspect and oversee the progress of the Navy's "Weihai Project" and the construction of military dormitories. In addition to recognizing the hard work of the personnel and construction teams involved in the project, he encouraged the relevant departments to fulfill their environmental responsibilities, maintain good relations with neighborhood, and ensure the project is completed timely, safely, and with high quality. The Deputy Minister CHUNG, accompanied by Administrative Deputy Minister, Vice- Admiral HUANG YU-MIN and other related personnel, visited the Zhenghe Camp for an inspection and supervision in the morning. He firstly listened to a progress report on the execution of the "Weihai Project," then inspected the actual situations of the renovation work at the "Zhenghe Dormitory," "Haigong New Village," and "Cihui Ninth Village" and provided working guidance. The Deputy Minister CHUNG stated that the "Weihai Project" is the largest military harbor project of our country in recent years. Once completed, it will meet the support needs for vessel repairs, supply, docking, training, and typhoon precaution. This will enhance the overall combat capability and operational sustainability of the Navy, assist in developing the naval strength and ensuring the maritime borders security and the protection of national sovereignty. The Deputy Minister CHUNG reminded the relevant departments that any project comes with risks. They should objectively assess and filter potential safety hazards based on different environmental and human factors. It is essential to follow measures such as "Standard Operating Procedures," "Dual Supervision and Reporting," and "Analysis of High-Risk Safety Items for the Following Week" to implement effective risk management and achieve the goal of "safety for personnel, operations, and equipment."