Taiwan's Top Official Leading Missile Program Found Dead in Hotel Room Amid Escalating Tensions With China

A top Taiwanese official, who was leading the missile program of the country, was found dead in a hotel room on Saturday. Ou Yang Li-hsing, deputy head of the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCIST), died in southern Taiwan's Pingtung.

Ou Yang was head of multiple missile production projects. The death of the missile program head in Taiwan at the time of conflict with China is a major concern for Taipei.

Ou Yang Li-hsing
Ou Yang Li-hsing Twitter

No Sign Of Intrusion In Hotel Room

Although, the initial investigation suggests that there was no sign of intrusion in the hotel room.

Reports claimed that Ou Yang died of a heart attack. Ou Yang's family also asserted that the official had multiple heart issues and had a cardiac stent.

Ou Yang Assumed His Position Earlier This Year

Ou Yang had taken up the role at the military research and development unit earlier this year as the organization aims to more than double its missile production capacity to in 2022, according to Newsweek.

Ou Yang, who assumed the key post to supervise various missile production projects earlier this year, was on a business trip to the southern county of Pingtung.

The military-owned body is working to more than double its yearly missile production capacity to close to 500 this year, as the island boosts its combat power amid what it sees as China's growing military threat.

The NCSIST, the organisation headed by Ou Yang, falls under the Taiwanese and it is trying to scale up its missile manufacturing capacity. The organization aims to produce at least 500 missiles this year as it faces a massive threat from China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and currently conducting massive military drills around the island nation.

The communist regime had opposed the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei and also warned Washington to be ready to pay for the consequences of such a high-profile visit.

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