October 26, 2006––By law, Dr. Shieh is forbidden from discussing or posting specifics about his case until the "investigatory phase" of his case is over. To date, they have not indicted him on any charges, despite his 59 day detainment. So as not to violate any laws, he has written this memoir that describes his efforts in the recent launch of FORMOSAT III, Taiwan's third satellite. (translated by Vickie Chen).
In February of this year, I went to the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to oversee preparations for the launch of the satellite, FORMOSAT III. Naturally, the primary purpose of my visit was to ensure a successful launch, but equally important was to visit our 
dedicated National Space Program Organization (NSPO--go to www.nspo.org.tw to learn more about Taiwan's space program!) colleagues stationed there who had been working around the clock for FORMOSAT III. Imagine the sub-par workrooms, filled with equipment, cables, and computers where they spent their days and nights. If the test results did not match the calculations, they would need to burn the midnight oil to find out why. Was it the equipment? Perhaps the cables weren’t connected properly? Or was it the computers? God forbid the problem was with the satellite itself! The list of possible problems was endless and when you add in the pressure of a tight schedule, it’s amazing that they didn’t lose their minds! After work, they had but a small room in a local hotel to return to. The town near the launch site was small and quiet, with few recreational activities and nothing that resembles home. After four months, even the best steaks in town begin to taste bland. The solitude alone would be enough to drive a person mad; but these efforts were for the advancement of Taiwan and these dedicated workers persevered without complaint. They gladly endured hardship for the sake of their country.
FORMOSAT III was the third launch mission since Taiwan decided to begin promoting space technology in 1990. Both of the previous satellites were launched into orbit and successfully carried out their delegated missions. FORMOSAT I, the first satellite, was relieved of its missions in 2004 due to solar cell deterioration.
FORMOSAT II remains in operation and is expected to be active until 2010. This satellite continues to transmit countless high-precision photos to our base daily.
FORMOSAT III, in contrast with its two predecessors, is composed of six micro-satellites that were placed on top of the rocket for lift-off. It will take one year for the satellite to orbit into the designated course, form a constellation and begin climatic observations. The development and launch of FORMOSAT III was initiated during the Kuomintang (KMT) regime, wherein the National Science Council (NSC) and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) agreed to collaborate on the project. Taiwan, however, committed approximately US $80 million, which was 80% of the total budget. The project has attracted international attention because data retrieved by the satellite would be available to scientists the world over. The meteorology community, in particular, has been awaiting the launch of this satellite into space. Although Taiwan owns the satellite, the Minotaur rocket was considered U.S. government property under the authority of the U.S. Air Force.
Traditionally, rockets are covered with logos and markings from sponsors and collaborators. Although these displays may serve commercial purposes, the bragging rights of being a contributor to a glorious project is often the main motivation. Of course, the sponsoring country would normally be allowed to display its national flag on the rocket. This was true of the rockets for FORMOSAT I and FORMOSAT II. Launch ceremonies are like wedding banquets. Everyone comes in great anticipation. There is happiness, anxiety and celebration, although the main attraction is the rocket rather than the bride. But, just like a bride at a wedding banquet, the rocket is expected to be properly groomed and dressed.
Perhaps it was the lack of diplomacy or the lack of political clout of our small nation that led to U.S. government’s decision not to allow the flag of Taiwan to be painted on the rocket. Furthermore, they also limited logos to a space of 250cm x 250cm. At first, when I heard these rules, I did not protest, since my only objective was to launch the satellite successfully. When I returned to my hotel room that night, however, I realized how wrong this decision was. This mission was initiated on the request of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Taiwan’s interests in atmospheric research was minimal but had agreed to participate in this project because of Taiwan’s eagerness in applying space technology. Taiwan, however, contributed 80% of the funding for this project in cash, whereas much of the remaining 20% contributed by the U.S. was estimated based on existing infrastructure and equipment that would be applied to this project! Cancellation of the mission would only result in limited cash loss on our side, since this mission was of limited benefit to Taiwan. On the other hand, it would be devastating to the U.S. government because of the NSF’s commitments to the rest of the world. This would be a huge public relations disaster for the NSF, not to mention the two test pico-satellites that U.S. Air Force and Navy had planned to launch with FORMOSAT III. More importantly, it is impossible to find any other nation like Taiwan, willing to foot the bill on a project they would not benefit from.
After I sorted these things out in my head, I asked the team leader to negotiate with the Vandenberg base authority. These efforts were to no avail, since issues regarding national symbols are governed by the U.S. Department of State. I then instructed the Science and Technology Division of the Washington D.C. TECRO to approach the State Department regarding this issue. After several negotiations, the State Department still would not budge. In fact, the State Department even expanded the restriction to prohibit the national flower and any maps of Taiwan!
In March, during a meeting with NSF representatives at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, I reinforced Taiwan’s position on the flag issue. I reasoned that FORMOSAT I and FORMOSAT II were launched with Taiwan’s flag painted on the rockets; why should this one be any different? I stressed to the representatives that if the flag issue was not resolved, we would halt all hardware interfacing work and postpone the launch. 
In the worst-case scenario, we would cancel the launch mission at all cost! The NSF representatives realized the gravity of this issue and reported the situation to their superior. However, since the NSF has no authority to overturn the State Department’s decision, the NSF could not make any promises. Nonetheless, the NSF responded by stating that they would make every effort to assist in negotiations with the State Department and offered to go to Taiwan to express their appreciation to the government and the people of Taiwan for their great contribution to scientific research. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) became involved as well and expressed concern to representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan who began to actively negotiate with Washington D.C., hoping to resolve the issue.
After several negotiations, a final consensus was made under the following conditions: 1) the allowable painted area would be enlarged, 2) although the flag would not permitted, any other type of artwork depicting Taiwan would be allowed regardless of size, 3) Chinese characters or English letters would both be acceptable.
The Taiwanese government issued instructions to “launch on time at all costs” so as to not damage our diplomatic relations with the U.S. As a matter of principle, we continued to insist that we should be allowed to paint Taiwan’s flag on the rocket. In order to prevent delay of the launch, however, we formulated a back-up plan. The U.S. government, however, emphasized that the rocket was U.S. property despite the proportionately large funds Taiwan contributed to the mission, and according to the Taiwan Relations Act, any symbol representing Taiwan as a nation was not permitted on U.S. government property.
Launch day came on April 14, and the countdown began. Everything was going smoothly and
according to plan. Two minutes before the scheduled launch time, the automatic sequencing started. At one minute and 50 seconds before launch, however, the sequence was terminated because a critical error was detected. The mission commander immediately ordered “launch abort” and returned the status to “ready for launch” stage. It’s important to understand that the decision to reset everything to the pre-launch state is a very difficult and high risk task, because one false move will be detrimental to the entire mission. At that time, the battery inside the satellite had already been activated; terminating and recharging the battery until it’s full can be a complicated process. The entire team, however, was calm, professional, and well prepared, following through this procedure step by step like a well-oiled machine. After clarifying the anomaly, the commander then signaled to resume the launch procedure and, one hour later, ordered to restart the “final count-down”. Around 6pm, after a few temperamental fits, FORMOSAT III, with Taiwan’s blessing, proudly projected into space and found its way to the designated orbit at an altitude of 400km. 
As the rocket took off, we could see the words “台灣 TAIWAN” clearly displayed on the upper cone of the rocket as it soared into the sky with a roar that strummed the hearts of every Taiwanese citizen.
Although FORMOSAT III was launched under poor weather conditions, the launch was nonetheless flawless. More importantly, it brought hope to the people of Taiwan and created dreams for scientists around the world! All of Taiwan’s space missions have been perfect, a record that no other country can claim. Indeed, we should thank all the space-fanatics for their dedication. 
We should also thank members of the Legislative Yuan for letting us do our job; this gave our project breathing room and buffer space to expand. Taiwan should be proud of this extraordinary achievement!
For 27 years, I was prohibited from traveling to Taiwan because I had voiced opposition to the policies of the totalitarian KMT government. I advocated democracy and contributed to the formation of a new party called the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). In May of 1995, I returned to work for the nation’s space program. 
Five years later, I became Deputy Minister of the National Science Council under the new DPP administration. Ironically, I was never imprisoned by the KMT government, but I was placed behind bars by the very same DPP government that I served under! It is also ironic that I spent many years in the U.S. trying to tear down the R.O.C. flag, only to work to be one of the flag’s staunchest supporters in this incident involving FORMOSAT III. Although I did not succeed in defending our country’s flag, my efforts allowed us to display the characters “台灣 TAIWAN” in large print on the rocket. There is a poem that goes (I have translated it from Taiwanese into English):
You plant a flower with tender care that dies despite your efforts. As you are planting the flower, you accidentally place a willow in the soil that grows, survives and eventually flourishes.
Sometimes, you work hard to achieve something without success, but unexpectedly achieve something else better. Despite the tumultuous events thus far, the nation’s continued development and progress has depended and thrived on the unselfish dedication and hard work of its people.
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