The alleged attendance of Legislative Yuan General Affairs Department Director Liao Chiung-chih (廖炯志) at a dinner hosted by executives of Taikoo Motors Ltd (太古汽車), which is seeking to import Chinese firm BYD Co’s (比亞迪) new Denza electric vehicles made in Thailand, on July 28 might have violated the Ethics Guidelines for Civil Servants (公務員廉政倫理規範), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said yesterday.
Wu cited Chinese-language reports by Mirror Media magazine (鏡週刊), which also claimed that staffers from the office of Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) were also present.
The report claimed that the event was an attempt by BYD to lobby Taiwanese politicians into relaxing regulations so that its cars would be allowed to enter the local market.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The optics of staffers from the speaker’s and deputy speaker’s office attending a dinner with Chinese executives at a Michelin-star restaurant at a time when floods beset Taiwan is condemnable, Wu said, calling on Han and Chiang to issue statements on the issue.
Liao said that he had no business dealings with the people at the dinner and he did not breach ethics regulations.
The guidelines state that Liao, as a civil servant, should not attend functions that create a conflict of interest, and his alleged attendance would be illegal if he had not notified the Legislative Yuan.
Asked about the incident on his way to preside over yesterday’s legislative session, Han only proffered a “good morning.”
Chiang’s office said that the staffer attended the dinner of their own accord and was unaware of who else would be there.
Political commentator Wen Lang-tung (溫朗東) on Facebook said that regardless of whether it was BYD or Taikoo Motors attempting to lobby for imports of BYD cars, there was no registration of such lobbying at the Legislative Yuan.
Wen said that BYD vehicles are compromised in terms of security and safety, citing 10 incidents of the cars catching fire and how an Australian BYD owner found that the vehicle’s SIM card made anonymous calls and transmitted data to third-party sources without the owner’s permission.
The legislature’s Lobbying Act (遊說法) registration site had no mentions of BYD, Taikoo or Shenzhen Denza New Energy Co (騰勢), which Taikoo cofounded with Mercedes-Benz.
The act states that all lobbying must be recorded.
Separately, a government official, commenting on condition of anonymity, said that authorities are looking into the claims that BYD executives are lobbying legislators.
Chinese entering Taiwan on business visas found to be conducting affairs outside the scope of their visa should be banned from entering Taiwan for five years, experts said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday it is reviewing new regulatory measures to block indirect imports of Chinese cars, following reports that electric vehicle giant BYD is planning to enter the Taiwan market by assembling vehicles in Thailand and selling them under the "Denza" brand through a local agent.
The ministry said the proposed regulations, which are expected by the end of the year, will address concerns over national security, vehicle safety, information security, and the protection of Taiwan’s auto industry.
Currently, Taiwan bans direct imports of fully assembled vehicles from China. Locally assembled vehicles using Chinese components must meet strict localization thresholds in order to be approved for sale and registration.
To prevent the dumping of Chinese-made vehicles in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs last year introduced a new policy regarding the local content ratio of domestically produced cars. The regulation applies to all manufacturers falling under the following categories: joint ventures between Chinese capital and international brands, such as Denza, international brands acquired by Chinese capital such as Volvo, international brands producing in China, such as Beijing Hyundai, and Chinese brands such as BYD.
The policy requires that any partner factories producing vehicles in Taiwan must commit to a localized supply chain with a defined local content ratio.
Taikoo Motors Group in Taiwan told Mirror News that Denza is an international brand and not manufactured in China, adding that it hopes to use this distinction to bypass regulations set by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and avoid violating the government’s policy prohibiting the import of complete vehicles from Chinese automotive brands.
Currently, BYD’s two hybrid models of “Sealion" (海獅) have been imported from Thailand via Taikoo and already delivered to the Vehicle Safety Certification Center for safety testing. However, testing has recently been suspended, and the vehicles have not yet received approval for registration or road use.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu and CNA
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