Air force pilot shares stories of time abroad in France

Air force pilot shares stories of time abroad in France

2026-05-01

Aerospace Industrial Development Corp chairman Tsao Chin-ping recently gave an exclusive interview on News Observation discussing Taiwan’s domestic flight program. A former air force pilot, Tsao said that when he was serving as Taiwan’s military representative in France, a scandal erupted triggering a diplomatic crisis. He managed to keep communication going by taking the same early trains as French military officers, where he staged chance encounters and exchanged military intelligence.

With over 40 years of experience as a pilot and instructor, the chairman of Aerospace Industrial Development Corp, Tsao Chin-ping, has had an impressive, meaningful career.

Tsao Chin-ping
AIDC chairman
Chief Shen Yi-ming gathered everyone together and gave us an important message before we left for France for training. The last air force group that went to France was led by Gao Zhihang. Many years had passed since the last exchange between our two countries, so we had to succeed. Failure was not an option. There was no turning back.

Former chief of general staff Shen ingrained an important principle in Tsao: Failure is not an option.

Tsao Chin-ping
AIDC chairman
One day we were flying a two-seater—he was in the front, and I was in the back. We were assigned a low-altitude mission in the mountains along the Xiugulan River. The scenery was beautiful, but the valley twists and turns and is difficult to fly through. During such a complex mission, he remained calm, telling me what to do in each moment. He was teaching me that when we serve as flight leaders, our greatest achievement is that our subordinates can complete the mission even when they have no clear understanding of the situation.

When Tsao was serving as a military representative in France, the Lafayette scandal broke out, severing military exchanges. But he found a way forward.

Tsao Chin-ping
AIDC chairman
At 2 or 3 in the morning I arrived in the office and completed all the work I had to do that day. Around 5am when the trains started running, I went to stations close to where French military officers lived, gathering information about what trains they took. I arranged chance encounters, using train rides as opportunities to exchange intelligence.

Shen gave Tsao courage during these deliberate “chance encounters” that went on for six months. Then on Jan. 2, 2020, they were both on board a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in New Taipei. Shen and seven others on board tragically lost their lives.

Tsao Chin-ping
AIDC chairman
I visited him early in the morning on the anniversary of his death, when no one else was around. I had time to have a heartfelt conversation with him, letting him know that thanks to his guidance, the air force was continuing to grow strong.

Tsao has gone from soaring in the skies to leading AIDC. He keeps General Shen’s legacy alive as he continues to safeguard Taiwan.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#TsaoChinping #ShenYiming #airforce #general #pilot #diplomat #France #military #exchange #AIDC

獨家專訪漢翔董座曹進平曝拉法葉案時期駐法秘辛

2026-05-01

漢翔航空董事長曹進平，受邀上「新聞觀測站」節目，分享國機國造的願景與目標。飛官出身的他，獨家在節目上透露，當年擔任駐法武官時，正巧爆發拉法葉艦弊案，陷入外交危機，軍事交流都被斷絕，他是靠著掌握法國軍官通勤的時間，刻意早起搭同一班車，製造巧遇，在火車上交換軍事情資。

談起擔任幻象兩千種子教官的回憶，漢翔航空董座曹進平神采奕奕，過去近40年飛行資歷，幾乎每一天都充滿意義。

[[漢翔航空工業董事長曹進平]]
“沈(一鳴)總長那時在我們出發前，他給大家集合起來，做了一個很重要的提示，中華民國空軍，在我們這一批要出發前往法國，接受幻象的換裝訓練之前，前一批的前輩是高志航，我們兩國之間的交流，已經是這麼多年之後，所以我們只有成功，沒有失敗的選擇，也沒有退路”

只許成功，不許失敗，前參謀總長沈一鳴對曹進平的影響，銘心刻骨。

[[漢翔航空工業董事長曹進平]]
“有一天一個雙座機，他在前座，我在後座，我們去執行一個超低空的穿山任務，穿越秀姑巒溪，雖然是很漂亮，但是這個溪谷蜿蜒，彎曲，在裡面飛行是困難的，他在這麼複雜的任務之下，他就是很輕鬆的，行雲流水的，告訴我現在做什麼，現在做什麼，他一直在教導我一個概念，就是我們在擔任飛行領隊的時候，我們最大的成就，就是你的部屬或是我們的僚機，他在完全不清楚任何情況之下，就已經順利完成任務”

曹進平擔任駐法武官時，拉法葉艦弊案爆發，軍事外交斷絕，他卻想出了一個法子。

[[漢翔航空工業董事長曹進平]]
“2點多，3點，早上就到辦公室，把今天要作業的所有作業程序都做完，在5點多，第一班火車開通的時候，就到郊區幾個對口，他(法國軍官)住的地方，按照平常蒐集的情資，他大概搭什麼火車，什麼時間，去路上安排巧遇，利用搭車時間，做情資的交換”

持續半年的「刻意巧遇」，讓曹進平壓力甚大，也是沈一鳴的訓勉，才讓他放下焦慮。然而，2020年1月2日兩人搭乘的黑鷹直升機失事，包括沈一鳴在內共8人不幸殉職。

[[漢翔航空工業董事長曹進平]]
“(忌日)天還沒有亮，我就去，就是在沒有人的時候，我有比較多的時間，可以跟他們來對話，來做心裡的溝通，我會讓他知道說，在他引導之下，空軍一直都還是持續地茁壯”

大難不死的曹進平從翱翔空中、到掌舵漢翔，帶著沈一鳴的精神，繼續保家衛國。

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