Public prosecutors have detained dozens of military officials and civilian defense contractors for questioning as part of a massive operation yesterday investigating military corruption in which contractors allegedly provided cheap, inferior components from China that were used to produce CM-32 “Clouded Leopard” armored vehicles.
The operation involved raids that resulted in about 60 people being detained, along with the seizure of documents and other evidence at 37 locations across the nation, including the Ministry of National Defense’s Procurement Office, the Ordnance Readiness Development Center in Nantou County and the ministry’s Armaments Bureau 209th Arsenal, which has its facilities at the ordinance center.
Military officials and supervisors of the ministry’s procurement program allegedly colluded with unqualified contractors over a NT$7.6 billion (US$243.9 million) tender package in 2012 to provide chassis and power equipment for the CM-32 vehicles, which were developed by the ordinance center, the military’s main production and maintenance facility for tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The scandal has been reported as a breach of national security and unauthorized disclosure of classified military material, as contractors allegedly employed Chinese workers and had Chinese subcontractors producing parts in the project’s supply chain.
Top executives, managers and accountants of contractors were summoned for questioning by prosecutors, including from Chung Hsin Electric and Machinery Manufacturing Corp (CHEM, 中興電工), Yi Rong Technology Co (億嶸科技), Wei Shuan Co (崴軒) and Chi Fu Industry (啟福工業).
CHEM was contracted for the project after a bid NT$4.8 billion, but the company did not manufacture parts and equipment. CHEM subcontracted the manufacturing portion of the project to Yi Rong Technology, Wei Shuan and Chi Fu Industry.
However, prosecutors said the three subcontractors do not have the certification required in the contract.
The contract specified that all manufacturing had to be done domestically by Taiwanese, prohibiting the contractor and its partner companies from employing Chinese workers or workers from other foreign nations, while no materials and parts from China or other foreign countries were to be used, prosecutors said.
Contractors breached the terms of the deal, prosecutors said.
The deals had undermined national security, while there remains suspicion that military officials received kickbacks and other inducements, prosecutors added.
The investigation is focused on whether military officials were “bought off” during the tender procurement process or during the final acceptance and check phase, prosecutors said.
Equipment and parts for the project were delivered in 2012 for assembly and testing at the 209th Arsenal.
The CM-32 vehicles were reported to have numerous problems, including a high rate of defective parts, leading to a judicial probe, which began about a year ago.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS