The State Department has denied that it is delaying final US approval of a NT$610.8 billion (US$18.2) billion arms sales package to Taiwan, amid accusations by members of Congress that the department is impeding the sale in deference to China's objections and the need for Beijing's help in the North Korea nuclear crisis.
The department was responding to a letter that seven House of Representatives members sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Jan. 27, complaining that the department has refused to notify Congress of the planned sale -- a key last step in the approval process -- until the Legislative Yuan approves the special defense budget needed to approve spending for the arms package.
The representatives see that reason as an excuse meant to curry favor with China.
The letter calls the stipulation a "novel precondition." Congressional sources in favor of the sale charge that such a criteria has not been applied to US foreign arms sales before.
"That's not the way we've done business with Taiwan in the past, and that's not the way we do business with other countries," the source stated.
The letter states that the failure of the arms package would hurt Taiwan's security and cause losses to US defense contractors.
In refuting the letter, a State Department official told the Taipei Times, "the decision [to sell the weapons] was made in 2001."
"That's policy. That's what we are going to do. The president decided it, and we have an obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act to make available items to Taiwan for its self-defense," the official said.
While the administration makes the decision on what weapons will be sold, or allowed to be sold, to foreign governments, it is Congress that actually has the final word. After the administration sends formal notification to Congress -- via four House and Senate committees -- Congress has 45 days to approve the sale, which is usually automatic.
"Congress wants to approve this sale," a congressional source said, adding that it can't do so until it gets the department's notification.
The controversy has brought to the surface a long-standing split in the administration between the defense and state departments over the sale.
"The defense department is dying to get this thing off the ground," a congressional source said, but the State Department "is utilizing domestic Taiwan political differences to try to get its way."
The department is refusing to give notification to Congress "because we want to put pressure on the Legislative Yuan to come up with the money," the congressional source claimed. "That doesn't make sense because the KMT is out there saying, `They're not serious about selling the stuff anyway, so why buy it?' The State Department did not have any other excuses to delay, so they came up with this $18.2 billion funding thing."
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS