Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said that Yongliang Ltd (永梁) had contravened the law by using China-made photovoltaic inverters in a military complex and called for a general inspection of military bases to see if there are other similar breaches.
The Legislative Yuan was criticized in 2017 for installing a photovoltaic inverter that had been made in China, Huang told a news conference in Taipei.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) and others have launched a campaign to ban the use of equipment made in China to protect national security.
Photo: CNA
United Renewable Energy Co (聯合再生), the parent company of Yongliang, was founded with a NT$3 billion (US$92.15 million) investment from the National Development Fund, and yet it is using equipment manufactured in China in a military base, Huang said yesterday.
Huang showed Yongliang’s contract to lease land from the army’s Lanyang Regional Command Center and said the contract specifically said no machinery manufactured in China was to be used there.
He said he had visited the site and found that all 44 photovoltaic inverters installed at the center have the words “Made in China” on them.
United Renewable Energy issued a statement yesterday saying that purchasing photovoltaic inverters from a German company that had them assembled in China was an “error” stemming from a lack of proper management.
The company pledged to put forward proposals to swap out the equipment using 100 percent Taiwan-made equipment within three days, adding that with the Ministry of National Defense’s approval, it would make the changes as soon as possible.
Mistakes were made and the military would strive to do better, Major General Huang Chien-sheng (黃建勝), director of the Armaments Bureau’s Construction and Production Division, said in a statement.
Such incidents are not allowed, and the ministry has launched a general inquiry, Huang Chien-sheng said.
Major General Lin Chia-yao (林佳耀), director of the Army Command Headquarters’ Engineering Division, said that the command has demanded Yongliang swap out all of the equipment before July 26.
If the company failed to facilitate the swap within the given time, the army would terminate the contract, Lin said.
The army is also reviewing relevant procedures, Lin added.
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