I first heard about Yú Běichén (于北辰) otherwise known as “General Yu” at the Taiwanese American Conference in July where he was one of the most popular speakers. General Yu is a retired army general, and now a Taoyuan city councilor, He ran as an independent in the November 2022 elections. I was able to interview General Yu when he was in New York with translation assistance from Winston Liao. This interview would not have been possible without the help of Jacy Chen, Sue Kuo, and Winston Liao. And a very special thanks to Meiling Lin, my mother for her help not only with translation of the interview, but for her assistance with research and preparation for this episode.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- General Yu’s upbringing and how he started his career in the military
- How Taiwan has changed militarily during his 30-something years in the military
- His thoughts on how to maintain peace for Taiwan
- If people are willing and able to defend Taiwan if attacked by China
- How China has invited Taiwanese soldiers, including General Yu to visit and has offered them favors and opportunities
- The 2013 case of Hung Chung-chiu, who was a 24-year-old military conscript who died three days before the end of his compulsory military service and how General Yu was asked to step in after this incident and make some reforms
- General Yu’s thoughts on the Sunflower Movement
- General Yu’s comments and thought on presidential candidates who have suggested another cross-strait service and trade agreement
- General Yu’s thought on the Kumointang and how it needs to change
- The importance of Taiwan having a healthy, normal democracy
- The veterans group that General Yu used be a director of
- How General Yu’s identity shifted from seeing himself as Chinese to Taiwanese
Related Links:
A Wikipedia page about General Yu (于北辰): https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%8E%E5%8C%97%E8%BE%B0_(1968%E5%B9%B4)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Beichen
General Yu (于北辰) on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Taoyuanpeichen
General Yu’s (于北辰) YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGvfg5loPGi4v2ddqL8W2Dw
General Yu (于北辰) and Hsin-Tai Wu (吳欣岱) – Full Talk – New York Taiwan Center 7.6.23: https://youtu.be/SRZY7b5pJDk?si=zSzmCymwdK2ZTW2z
TACEC (Taiwanese American Conference East Coast): https://www.tacec.org/#/
Kuomintang (KMT): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang
Chinese Civil War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War
Battle of Guningtou: The Republic of China Fights For Survival: https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/battle-of-guningtou-the-republic-of-china-fights-for-survival/
The Battle of Guningtou (or The Battle of Kinmen):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guningtou
Death of Hung Chung-chiu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Hung_Chung-chiu
Thirteen jailed over conscript’s death (an article from Taipei Times): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/03/08/2003585136
Taiwan protest over Hung Chung-chiu death (an article from BBC News): https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23561244
Han Kuang Exercise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Kuang_Exercise
An Overview of Taiwan’s 2023 Han Kuang Military Exercise (an article from GTI Global Taiwan Institute): https://globaltaiwan.org/2023/08/an-overview-of-taiwans-2023-emhan-kuang-em-military-exercise/
Resilience key in Han Kuang drills as China ramps up military pressure: Analysts (an article from Focus Taiwan): https://focustaiwan.tw/cross-strait/202307280005
Sunflower Movement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
Cross-Strait Issues Take Center Stage in Taiwan’s Presidential Race (an article from The Diplomat): https://thediplomat.com/2023/07/cross-strait-issues-take-center-stage-in-taiwans-presidential-race/
ELECTION 2024/Taiwan presidential hopefuls reheat decade-old China trade deal debate (an article from Focus Taiwan): https://focustaiwan.tw/cross-strait/202306260012
The 1992 Consensus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Consensus
Notes from Central Taiwan: Hou’s ‘1992 consensus’ folly: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2023/07/10/2003802953?fbclid=IwAR222ZVuQOl5eRqPQJdGyvmZ2FRuelmHJGQFN3kQkiHTyRVX8k-60Nt_KRk
Hou Yu-ih: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Yu-ih
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