Officials yesterday denied allegations that they had tried to influence China Airlines Co (
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not made any contact with the China Airlines Co," said Katharine Chang (
Chang also denied allegations that Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
Chang admitted, however, that both the US and the EU had expressed "deep concerns" over the purchase, adding that the task of the ministry was merely to pass on information.
"The CAL purchase of aircraft is a commercial action of a private firm. The foreign ministry strictly adheres to neutrality and absolutely avoids any interference or illegally lobbying," Chang said.
Lee yesterday also denied allegations that Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (
The series of denials from officials came following allegations made by PFP lawmakers yesterday morning.
They said Chien, Lin and Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Shih-meng (
Chen said yesterday that the lawmakers' reporting of hearsay was a "shameless" move.
However, the government seems to be coming under increasing pressure to bring its influence to bear on the airline.
Yesterday, Douglas Paal, the US' de facto ambassador to Taiwan, took Boeing executives to meet President Chen Shui-bian (
Chien as well as Lin were also present at the meeting, according to the sources.
The president reportedly said during the meeting that the purchase should not be viewed as merely commercial behavior and asked government agencies to further study the case.
PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
"This showed that high-ranking government officials have attempted to disrupt professional judgement with political considerations," Liu said in a press release, while vowing to look into what he termed the "political trade-offs" involved in the case.
Lin yesterday afternoon also requested China Airlines to produce a purchase evaluation report, reiterating that he would respect the airlines' decision.
Lin also serves as the chairman of China Aviation Development Foundation (
Paal has visited various government officials lately together with Boeing executives in an apparent move to lure China Airlines into buying the planes from Boeing.
AIT yesterday declined to comment on any aspect of the purchase.
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