Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon was under pressure to resign yesterday after admitting he had accepted gifts from a wealthy Chinese businesswoman and failed to declare them.
He told a news conference he “deeply regretted” not following regulations and officially declaring two sponsored trips to China paid for by prominent Chinese-Australian Helen Liu.
“I was wrong. That was very untidy of me. It was without justification and I apologize for it,” he said.
Fitzgibbon had initially denied receiving anything other than “small gifts” from Liu, a family friend, after details of his links to the China-born businesswoman were leaked to the media.
But he admitted in a statement issued overnight that “these trips were paid for by Ms Helen Liu either personally or through her associated commercial interests. I failed to disclose those trips.”
The minister said yesterday he had assumed that the trips in 2002 and 2005 to China — when he was an opposition member of parliament — had been declared on a parliamentary register.
The trips were “a cultural exchange” during which he met Chinese political officials, he said.
The leader of the opposition Liberal Party, Malcolm Turnbull, called for Fitzgibbon to be sacked, saying he wanted to know who the minister had seen on his trips to China and what was discussed.
“China has a vested interest in acquiring our natural resources at low prices,” Turnbull told reporters. “The question is how much has Mr Fitzgibbon not told us.”
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is visiting the US, expressed disappointment over Fitzgibbon's failure to declare the trips but backed his performance as defense minister.
“I'm disappointed that he did not make those declarations back then,” Rudd told reporters. “I expect better of Mr Fitzgibbon in the future.”
But, he added: “Mr Fitzgibbon is doing a good job as minister of defense, there's a big reform program in defense and he's doing a first class job.”
The reform program is believed to be behind the scandal, with disgruntled defense department staff suspected of spying on their boss — who described them as incompetent — and leaking details of his relationship with Liu.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from