Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday questioned the procedural legality of the state-owned National Development Fund’s (NDF) investment in Yu Chang Biologics Co (宇昌生技股份有限公司) in 2007, following the declassification of two documents relating to the investment.
In addition, legislators reiterated accusations against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who was vice premier at the time, of privately profiting from the investment deal.
The two declassified documents were sent by then-minister without portfolio Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) on Feb. 9, 2007, and on March 21, 2007, respectively.
Photo: CNA
The first document, which stated that the fund would invest US$20 million in a company that would work with US firm Genentech Inc under three conditions, was sent to then-premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Tsai for approval, evidence the case did not follow the NDF’s general review procedures.
The files show that Tsai signed two documents on a deal with the US biotech firm Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for the development of a new AIDS drug known as Anti-CD4, and the drug’s third-stage clinical trial.
However, the second document, which offered more details about the deal and made first mention of the company’s English name — “TaiMed Group” — were sent only to Tsai, for approval.
TaiMed was Yu Chang’s predecessor, which Tsai became chairperson of a few months after resigning as vice premier.
KMT lawmakers questioned Ho’s motives for not sending the documents under her titles of Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) chairperson or NDF convener, since she had taken the two positions at the end of January 2007.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) questioned whether Tsai had known she would become chairperson at Yu Chang before she approved the documents, since the second document proved that the idea of the company already existed.
The fund’s data show that TaiMed held a conference for potential investors on March 31, 2007, and the conference’s report listed Tsai as one of the company’s four key principals.
KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said Tsai might have broken the “revolving door” clause on officials and private sector work, since a key principal would generally become a company executive or be closely connect to its operation.
“The two documents have almost confirmed that Tsai played an authority-abusing role to enrich herself from the deal,” KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said.
Chiu accused Tsai of lying when she said on Friday that that she was not involved in the start-up.
Chiu asked Tsai to give a clear account of how much money the Tsai family placed in Yu Chang’s accounts.
“The account had no money until the DPP administration appropriated money from the NDF,” he said.
Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如), who submitted the declassified documents to the legislature, said the two documents did not clarify why the investment deal was managed as a “special project” approved by the Cabinet, instead of following the NDF’s general application procedures.
However, even for a special project, the case did not fully follow the complete procedures like the other projects, Liu said, adding that “the lack of an exact company name and an official proposal” were major problems in evaluating the case’s legitimacy.
The Chinese name of TaiMed first appeared in the letter sent by Tsai to the fund on July 2007, asking it to wire NT$40 million (US$1.3 million) to the “TaiMed Inc Preparatory Office” account before Sept. 3 of the same year, Liu said.
Another letter was sent on the same day saying the company’s name had been changed to Yu Chang, finally connecting TaiMed with Yu Chung, Liu said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
PREPAREDNESS: Given the difficulty of importing ammunition during wartime, the Ministry of National Defense said it would prioritize ‘coproduction’ partnerships A newly formed unit of the Marine Corps tasked with land-based security operations has recently replaced its aging, domestically produced rifles with more advanced, US-made M4A1 rifles, a source said yesterday. The unnamed source familiar with the matter said the First Security Battalion of the Marine Corps’ Air Defense and Base Guard Group has replaced its older T65K2 rifles, which have been in service since the late 1980s, with the newly received M4A1s. The source did not say exactly when the upgrade took place or how many M4A1s were issued to the battalion. The confirmation came after Chinese-language media reported
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
RSS