Tang Fei

Infobox_Prime_Minister | name=Tang Fei


nationality=ROC
order=Premier of the Republic of China
term_start=May 20, 2000
term_end=October 6, 2000
predecessor=Vincent Siew
successor=Chang Chun-hsiung
birth_date=birth date and age|1933|3|15
birth_place=
death_date=
death_place=
spouse=
party=KMT

Tang Fei (Chinese: 唐飛; Pinyin: Táng Fēi; born March 15, 1933) is a retired ROC Air Force Admiral and the Premier of the Republic of China between May 20 and October 6, 2000 under the Chen Shui-bian Government, even though he was a member of the Kuomintang (KMT) at his in-office time.

Biography

Tang enlisted in the ROC Air Force since young and was promoted to admiral in 1992. He served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the ROC military from 1998 to 1999, and the ROC Defense Minister from 1999 to 2000. He was appointed as the Premier in April 2000 when Chen Shui-bian was still President-elect. This appointment was commonly viewed as an attempt to cooperate with KMT, for his administration to be viewed as one encompassing multiple political views, and to assuage concerns domestically, internationally, and by the People's Republic of China that Chen would immediately declare Taiwan independence.

Tang resigned on October 6, 2000 citing poor health. However, it was commonly viewed as the result of frustration from his relative lack of control over members of his cabinet(the vast majority of whom were DPP members selected by Chen but not Tang), and inability to affect Chen's executive decisions. It was also suspected that while both Tang and Chen portrayed Tang's departure as having been initiated by Tang, Chen actually asked Tang to resign. The conflict might have been precipitated by Chen's decision to halt construction of the controversial Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant, planned during Lee Teng-hui's administration but opposed by Chen's Democratic Progressive Party, while Tang favored its continued construction. At only 139 in-office days, Tang is the shortest-lived Prime Minister in the ROC Constitution history.

After Tang's resignation as premier, he was invited back to the KMT, but despite an immediate visit back to the party headquarters, he never re-registered his party membership under KMT Chairman Lien Chan's re-registration drive, and therefore is no longer a member of the KMT. He later became a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and secluded himself at his Yonghe City residence in spare time.

In June 2007, Tang Fei attempted to create a 3rd political force alongside local entrepreneur Winston Wong. But that party did not win any seats in the 2008 Republic of China legislative election and Winston Wong gave up his plan to run for presidency. Tang Fei later came out to endorse the Kuomintang Presidential Candidate Ma Ying-jeou.

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