Today's appointment of career air force officer Yen Ming to the position raises questions about a possible power struggle over the defence minister's job. The post has taken on added significance following the death of a 24-year-old conscript in a military brig and growing ministry difficulties in transitioning to an all-volunteer force.
Yen replaces Andrew Yang, a respected academic, who announced his resignation late yesterday. Yang took responsibility for an article that a ghost writer prepared under his name in a 2007 book on China's People's Liberation Army that contained material lifted from another source.