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.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS