Military Refutes Rumors About Defection|中網軍傳飛官投共假訊息 嚴德發斥卑劣

The military and Coast Guard entered the fourth day of the search and rescue operation for Air Force Colonel Chiang Cheng-chih who was piloting an F-16 jet suddenly disappeared from radar screens during a training exercise on Nov. 17. Meanwhile, netizens spread rumors that Chiang had defected to China.


A military plane lands at Hualien Air Base on Nov. 20, bringing Chief of the General Staff Huang Shu-kuang to Hualien to oversee the search and rescue operation for Air Force Colonel Chiang Cheng-chih and console his family members. On Nov. 17, Chiang, a member of the Air Force's 5th Tactical Fighter Wing, was piloting an F-16 plane during a routine training exercise. Contact was lost two minutes after he took off, and no traces of Chiang or the plane have been found.

The military and Coast Guard have been searching for him since. A private salvage company sent its geophysical survey vessel, the Polaris Australis, to take readings at a specific location in the waters off of Hualien.

Navy minesweepers previously intercepted signals at nine locations. The Polaris Australis has completed preliminary readings at seven of them and will complete the readings at the other two locations this morning. We can establish underwater search targets and take a second round of readings after the data is analyzed and compared.

The degree of difficulty underwater at 100 atmospheres is very high. The depth is very deep, and signals passing through seawater will progressively decrease in strength, so they can sometimes be detected, sometimes not. Ocean currents will also have an effect, creating difficulties in the search and rescue and salvage operations.

While the military was making an all-out effort to locate the missing pilot, netizens began spreading rumors that Chiang had defected to China. They even claimed he was in self-isolation at Xiamen Airport.

We feel that it is extremely despicable to spread these rumors. We think the rumors being spread by Chinese netizens are complete nonsense and will only deepen our military's determination to resist the enemy and feelings of patriotism.

The Ministry of National Defense refuted the rumors, and experts say the possibility of a defection is low. Premier Su Tseng-chang also condemned the rumors as fake news, and said this type of behavior is ridiculous and inhumane.



國軍行政專機，在花蓮空軍基地降落，參謀總長黃曙光，20號一早就趕往花蓮坐鎮，要慰問失聯飛官、蔣正志家屬，並了解F-16戰機的最新搜救進度。空軍第五聯隊，飛官上校蔣正志，17號晚間駕駛F-16戰機進行例行訓練，結果起飛2分鐘失聯，到現在人和戰機都還沒有找到。

國軍和海巡相關單位，從夜晚到白天，持續進行陸、海、空的搜尋作業，民間打撈公司、奧黛麗絲號，也已經抵達花蓮外海目標區，進行音頻探測。

國防部長 嚴德發表示：「海軍獵雷艦，之前所探測到的音頻信號有9個點，奧黛麗絲號，完成了7個航線的初步的音頻探測。今天上午會把另外兩處通通完成，（經分析)完成比對之後，會做更進一步水下目標，第二階段的探測。」

前空軍副司令 張延廷表示：「那(水下)100大氣壓，那個深度，那種困難度是非常高。海底下面的深度相當深，那信號經過海水的這種，這種阻擋之後，它信號會遞減，所以時有時無，那又有海湧，又有海流，你這樣子，會造成它搜救上，打撈上的困難。」

就在相關單位，傾全力搜救同時，網路上卻傳出，蔣正志已經投共，而且人在廈門機場隔離的消息。

國防部長 嚴德發表示：「網路上散播這些謠言，我們覺得是非常卑劣的一個行為。針對中共的，網路上的謠傳，我們認為這是無稽之談，只會加深我們國軍，抗敵的意志，愛國的情操。」

國防部駁斥消息，專家也認為投共可能性很低，行政院長蘇貞昌也嚴厲譴責，這是假消息，也認為這種說法既荒謬又不人道。