Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Chang said the government was happy to see such a company established and was funding its operations.
Chang declined, however, to comment on the function of the company.
Chang made the remarks in response to questions about a report in yesterday's Chinese-language China Times that said the administration "secretly established" an arms company.
The newspaper said that Vice Premier Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) was behind the operation and that Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), a stalwart of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) now disbanded New Tide Faction, was tipped to become the president of the newly founded company.
The report said the company, Taiwan Goal, had been up and running for about six months and would serve as a platform to integrate the arms industry and arms procurement projects. In addition, the firm would export domestically produced arms, the report said.
Regarding Wu's appointment, Chang said appointees to the firm could be changed in the future.
Chang said that appointing a political figure to the position was not a problem because the position is unpaid and does not come with a public vehicle or chauffeur.
Wu yesterday issued a statement confirming that Taiwan Goal had been established last month and that he was serving as president without pay.
Wu said the company was a private business. However, he said he would resign from the post after the election in May to allow the nation's next president to appoint a new company chief.
Since the company was established at the end of last month, Wu said that it was in talks with several arms suppliers abroad about jointly providing arms maintenance services.
Wu said he did not expect to see any contracts signed before May 20, the inauguration date of the new president.
Wu said the purpose of the company was to serve as a bridge between foreign suppliers and domestic buyers and ensure the maintenance of weapons systems, while driving the domestic military and the defense industry to upgrade technology.
Minister of National Defense Lee Tien-yu (
In response to the news, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
"As a caretaker government, it should not make any big moves or changes. Otherwise society will pay a hefty price when the new government makes changes again later," Ma said.
KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) questioned the Ministry of National Defense's role in the establishment of the company.
Lin said the company was established by the government in exchange for help from the New Tide Faction with DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) campaign.
"Chiou I-jen and Wu Nai-jen [who were affiliated with the faction] alone are able to decide on NT$50 billion [US$1.5 million] in annual defense industry transactions ... I believe that the establishment of the company was an under-the-table deal [between the DPP and the faction]," Lin told a press conference.
KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-min (
"Arms procurement requires professional knowledge and should not be entrusted to a private company ... The [KMT] caucus will never allow it to exist," Shuai said.
Lin threatened to impeach Lee over the investment.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih, Flora Wang and CNA
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
RSS