High-ranking Taiwanese military officials were paid an estimated US$20 million in commissions to endorse the controversial French frigate deal in 1991, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker said yesterday.
DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (
Hsu said that former premier Hau Pei-tsun (
Between Sept. 2 and Sept. 17, 1989, six high-ranking military officials, including Kuo Li-heng, former vice admiral Lei Hsueh-ming (雷學明), former captain Kang Shih-chun (康世淳) and former commander Cheng Chih-po (程志波), proposed a change of plans after a trip to France, Hsu said.
The defense ministry accepted a proposal on Oct. 5, 1989, to purchase Lafayette-class frigates from France on the recommendation of Kuo Li-heng, Lei, Kang, Cheng, former vice admiral Yao Neng-chun (姚能君), former rear admiral Wang Chin-sheng (王琴生) and former captain Hsuan Peng-lai (宣蓬萊).
Hsu said yesterday that navy captain Yin Ching-feng (
Hsu said that Andrew Wang (汪傳浦), an agent for Thomson-CSF, the French company that sold the frigates to Taiwan, filed a defamation suit on Aug. 17, 2001, against Hsieh Tsung-min (謝聰敏), then an advisor to the president, who had allegedly accused Wang of killing Yin. Because Wang had asked for NT$20 million in compensation and reportedly said he would donate the money to Yin's bereaved family if he wins the suit, Hsu argued that the NT$20 million would equal Yin's kickback.
The DPP has claimed that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) used a woman named Liu Li-li (劉莉莉) to distribute US$100 million to officials from the Chinese Communist Party and People's Liberation Army.
People First Party Legislator Lin Yu-fang (
Lin said he has personally talked with Hao, who denied that he knows Liu.
Lin called on the DPP to produce proof, as Hao is considering filing a lawsuit if the DPP fails to offer a satisfactory explanation.
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