Officials from Taiwan's National Science Council (NSC) dismissed reports that its ROCSAT-2 (
Twelve high-level NSC officials, including Vice Chairman Tsay Ching-yen (
Later today, NSC officials plan to hold a preliminary meeting at Matra Marconi's facilities in Toulouse to discuss details, including the main structure of the satellite, as well as software and telemetry instruments.
The NSC has dismissed reports that the problems are related to GEC Alsthom's recent failure to win the bid for Taiwan's high-speed rail system.
Sources told the Taipei Times that GEC Alsthom complained to the French government about its unsuccessful bid, saying that it attempted to influence the government's support of Matra Marconi's part in the ROCSAT-2 project.
"I don't know of any pressure from GEC Alsthom on the ROCSAT-2 project, but stories in local media [in France] have mentioned opposition from China," said NSC official Kuo Shih-cheng (
A Matra Marconi official also told that Taipei Times yesterday that the satellite project was going smoothly and had not met with any interference.
"The contract was signed about one month ago and we started to work on the project together," said Remi Roland, a public relations official from Matra Marconi, in France.
"We received authorization [a high-tech export permit] last year from our government to built ROCSAT-2," Roland said, suggesting the license was evidence of support from the French government.
The NSC signed a NT$2.37 billion contract with Matra Marconi last month to build the main part of the satellite, which is being designed to perform real-time remote sensor work on the oceans and landmasses in the vicinity of Taiwan.
To meet a proposed mid-2003 launch date for ROCSAT-2, NSC scientists have been working on several sub-projects, including preparing tender bids for various sub-systems.
The bid for the payload system for the ROCSAT-2, due to be offered on Jan. 25, is to be contested by several major aerospace firms from the US and Russia.
China has reportedly put pressure on countries cooperating with Taiwan on the project, claiming its high-resolution photo capabilities could be used for military purposes.
The satellite is to be Taiwan's second aerospace venture, following the launch of ROCSAT-1 on Jan. 27, 1999 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2