A new diplomatic cable disclosed by WikiLeaks suggests the US is concerned about Taiwan’s export control system, which it said “lags far behind” countries that are at a similar level of development.
The cable disclosed on Tuesday came from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei and contained information relevant to discussions of the topic between the de facto US embassy and several Taiwanese officials and an academic.
The cable expressed US concern over how the Export Control and Related Border Security Assistance (EXBS) program, the US’ premier initiative to help other countries improve their export control systems, works in Taiwan and how the government should remedy deficiencies in the system.
At a meeting between the AIT and then-vice minister of economic affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) on July 21, 2009, Lin said it was unclear how export control work would be managed once a ministerial reorganization took place, referring to the government’s restructuring plan that is scheduled to begin next year.
The AIT suggested that Taiwan prioritize the importance of export controls within the ministry “so that it is commensurate with countries that are at a similar level of development as Taiwan ... currently, Taiwan lags far behind places likes Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea in the way export control is managed.”
The cable showed the AIT was told by Chang Chih-yu (張志宇), then-director of the Executive Yuan’s Office of Homeland Security, at a meeting on July 27, 2009, that “export controls are not Taiwan’s top priority.”
Chang told the AIT that “Taiwan’s biggest concern is industry compliance. Taiwanese companies endlessly complain about compliance with export controls and how any measure to strengthen it will affect their bottom line,” the cable showed.
“Industry complaints about export controls is not unique to Taiwan ... all companies, everywhere, complain about export controls. Regardless, export control is an international security issue that all of us must be vigilant in strengthening so that no place provides an avenue for proliferation of WMD [weapons of mass destruction],” the AIT said.
The AIT told Chang that “officials should explain to industry what the rules are and how companies can comply with the rules, but in the end, officials are responsible for national security and foreign policy, not the private sector,” the cable showed.
According to the cable, categorized as unclassified by the AIT, the US believed that only a few high-level officials in Taiwan truly understood export controls and how their management affects Taiwan’s international standing.
“Currently, Taiwan simply follows [in] the footsteps of the US. Furthermore, the main concern for Taiwan is controlling commodities exported to China,” the AIT said.
The AIT also said that an interagency export control committee, which exists within the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), had not met for more than a year.
“While repeatedly asked why BOFT does not call an interagency committee meeting, the response has been [the] BOFT does not have the personnel to work on it,” the cable said.
Su Chi (蘇起), then-National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general, was another official the AIT spoke to about the matter.
The cable says Su agreed that Taiwan needs to increase the priority of export controls and that he had instructed his deputy to take care of the issue.
At a meeting with the AIT on Aug. 10, 2009, Su proposed assigning the portfolio to a senior NSC official, raising the level of the office within the BOFT and creating a non-governmental organization to provide information and research on non-proliferation issues to the government.
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