The advisory board of the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, the nation’s top defense research body, has become a sinecure office for retired military personnel and is having an adverse effect on defense development, lawmakers said yesterday.
The institute is a semi-government agency founded by the Ministry of National Defense, which functions independently, despite its close ties with the ministry and reliance on government funding and contracts.
The institute has played a leading role in developing homegrown trainer jets, surface vessels and submarines to build self-sufficiency in defense, while its subcontractors have been awarded contracts worth billions of New Taiwan dollars.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
A 13-member advisory board of the institute is responsible for providing professional suggestions on weapons research, development and production, but most of the board members are former military personnel with no expertise in weapons development, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) told a news conference in Taipei.
Except for one retired institute official, the other 12 members are former defense ministry officials, while among the 12, only two have worked in armament units and the others have no experience in the field of defense science, Lo said.
“The overwhelming presence of military personnel with little background in weapons development or science nullifies the purpose of the advisory board,” Lo said.
The board members are paid between NT$160,000 and NT$180,000 per person per month, giving rise to the suspicion that the board position is a sinecure, he said.
“The institute said the reason the board members are hired is because of their ability to communicate with the armed forces. However, the institute is founded by the ministry and is well connected with it, so there is no need to hire ministry officials,” DPP Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said.
“Are they appointed to play gatekeeper” to ensure ministry contracts? Tsai asked.
A board member surnamed Chen (陳) worked for US defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin after retiring from the ministry and his appointment to the board might create a conflict of interests, DPP Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said.
“If he is still an employee of Lockheed Martin, the institute has to relieve him of his duties, because his assumption of board duties might be to the firm’s favor,” Wang said.
The lawmakers asked the institute to consider downsizing the board or replacing it with independent, outside directors, Tsai said.
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