The army general headquarters yesterday said it regretted a search by military prosecutors at a Nantou-based tank and armored vehicle base for new clues in an already-closed case.
"The case concerned administrative errors made by staff offi-cers at the Nantou base while handling the purchase of bulletproof glass between 1996 and 1998. All the officers involved, around 20 in total, have already been disciplined," said Major Li Hsiao-kuang (李曉光), a senior officer at the army general headquarters.
"The case was closed last November. Both the Control Yuan and the military's auditing authority had probed the case and found no evidence that corrupt practices took place," Li said.
"We do not understand why military prosecutors now want to re-investigate the case. As far as we know, the re-investigation was prompted by a letter of complaint sent by a former base employee," he said.
Li declined to comment on whether the ex-worker might have some kind of personal feud with his former superiors or whether he might have held a grudge against the base's leadership after being forced to quit his job because of the cross-service Chingshih personnel streamlining project.
The tank and armored vehicle base, located in Chichi township, is also facing a separate crisis.
It has been accused of unfair practices by foreign arms companies bidding to provide the army with its next generation of eight-wheeled armored personnel carriers.
An army official, who claims in-depth knowledge of the matter, said the army now favors an Irish company because it has promised to help Taiwan set up its own production line and will also agree to transfer the relevant technology.
"The terms offered by [the Irish firm] are much more attractive than the other two companies. Now we have been unfairly accused of rigging the bid. Do we not have the right to choose what we think is the best?" the official said.
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Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique