Director of American Institute in Taiwan, David Dean in person with the United States satellite image recording a minimized nuclear test at Jioupeng military base field in Pingtung in 1986, Superior-general Hau Pei-tsun claimed that scientists in Taiwan had already produced the controlled nuclear reaction as the continuous progress in decades after the previous accomplishment equivalent to 1/6 of Hiroshima scale in South Africa in 1980, as per General Hau's Diary and President Nelson Mandela's later findings. Under pressure from the U.S., the program was halted. During the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, ROC President Lee Teng-hui proposed to reactivate the program, but was forced to back down a few days later after drawing intense criticism from the U.S. government. With the unbalanced military equation across the Taiwan Strait, Taipei may choose nuclear weapons as a deterrent against the military encirclement by the People's Republic of China. Budget Taiwan's budget figures exclude both the classified budget and special funds allocated by the Executive Yuan. As of 2020 special funds expenditures were almost 2 billion a year. In 2021 the legislature approved a US$9 billion special budget for weapons and systems procurement. See also Republic of China Armed Forces Museum People's Liberation Army Grey-zone (international relations) Republic of China Navy Republic of China Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit Republic of China Army Airborne Special Service Company Republic of China Air Force Republic of China Military Police Republic of China Armed Forces Reserve Notes References Citations Sources External links ROC Ministry of National Defense Official Website Military of the Republic of China 1924 establishments in China Military units and formations established in 1947