The Ministry of National Defense is suing the French government for alleged kickbacks paid to French officials for the purchase of Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters between 1992 and 1997, an official said.
The ministry has acquired the services of an elite French legal firm for one year for the suit, costing NT$177 million (US$5.86 million), a senior official who has knowledge of the matter said.
The France-based legal firm is to represent Taiwan until July 23 next year, but the ministry is to continue the case if the court of arbitration does not reach a verdict by July next year, said the official who requested anonymity.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
The ministry believes the legal fees are justified, as the court ruled in a former case that France is to repay US$875 million for bribes paid to its officials for selling six Lafayette-class frigates, the official said.
The French-made frigates cost Taiwan NT$78 billion, less than half the NT$160 billion paid for 60 Mirage 2000 jets, the official said.
“Although the two cases are not comparable, if it is proven that there were kickbacks paid for the fighters, we will likely demand repayments that are greater than the compensation we are to receive for the Lafayette-class frigates,” the official said.
Following the legal victory in the Lafayette case, the ministry in 2012 sued for compensation over bribes that were allegedly paid for Mirage 2000 fighters, the official said.
It took four years for the case to clear preliminary legal procedures, which is now to be heard at the court of arbitration, the official added.
The air force is to send a legal team of 12 people to France to be involved in the proceedings, the official said.
The French government was upset by the case brought by the Mirage 2000 scandal, which has affected its commitment to provide technical support for the fighters, another anonymous source said.
The dispute had a negative effect on the fighters’ maintenance, spare parts supply and the life-extension program for their missiles, the source said.
However, the French government has continued hosting training for Taiwanese pilots, a program that began in November last year and is to continue until October next year, in addition to sending instructors to Taiwan for advanced tactical training, the source said.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
EXCEPTIONS: Some people could be allowed to reclaim citizenship for humanitarian reasons or because of their contributions to the nation, the interior ministry said Taiwan would soon unveil new rules banning Taiwanese residents of China from reclaiming their citizenship if they participated in Beijing’s propaganda activities, the Ministry of the Interior said on Monday. The measures were drafted following President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 directive that the government counter China’s espionage and influence campaigns aimed at undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty, the ministry said in a preview of the rules. The changes would affect Taiwanese who lost their citizenship after becoming permanent residents of China or obtaining passports issued by China, it said. Under the measures, former Taiwanese nationals living in China who had made statements denying the
RSS