Criticizing a number of crippled satellite projects conducted by the National Science Council (NSC), legislators yesterday called for the exchange of space technology with China in a bid to promote Taiwan's space industry.
At a question and answer meeting held by the Science and Technology Committee (科技及資訊委員會) yesterday, lawmakers voiced disappointment with recent setbacks in three ongoing satellite projects.
Most of the concerns expressed were over technical problems and Chinese interference with the projects, centering around the failure of foreign contractors to obtain the necessary government export licenses to follow through with their commitments.
Legislators urged the NSC to consider cooperating with China.
"This has nothing to do with politics. China has well-developed space technology, and we can definitely benefit from it," said KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (
Ting and DPP legislator Chen Zau-nan yesterday (
Stressing security concerns over the proposal, NSC Chairman Weng Cheng-i (
Since the early 1990s -- when Taiwan initiated a 15-year-long state-funded project, costing NT$19.7 billion, to develop space technology -- China has interfered with Taiwan's efforts.
After ROCSAT-1 (
A German firm had been contracted to build the main part of ROCSAT-2, but it had failed to get a high-tech export license from its government, which was under pressure from China. A French company, Matra Marconi Space (MMS), then stepped into the breach.
NSC officials admitted yesterday that China had warned France last week about its cooperation on ROCSAT-2 between the NSC and MMS, to which France had granted a high-tech export license.
It was reported on June 22 that Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao (
KMT legislator Huang Hsien-chou (
"Might France's bid for involvement in a high-speed railway project in China affect Taiwan's satellite contract with France?" asked Huang.
NSC officials said that they had conducted a risk assessment.
"We were told by our contractor that the French government rarely withdraws licenses that have been issued," said Wang Hung-chih (
NSC officials yesterday sought to play down the significance of the legislators' ideas of space cooperation, telling reporters privately that Chinese space technology did not quite meet Taiwan's needs.
A launch date for the satellite has been given as the middle of 2003. However, the deadline for receipt of bids to build the payload system, originally scheduled for January, has been deferred to the end of June because there were no bids received by the deadline.
The bid was expected to attract major aerospace firms in the US and Russia. NSC officials said yesterday that a Russian firm had dropped out after failing to obtain the required high-tech export permit from the Russian government.
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