Minister of National Defense Tang Fei (
"A military purchase of this kind does not allow for any commission-taking. I have never heard of anything of the kind in connection with F-16 deals which the US has had with foreign countries," Tang said.
"People who make remarks about commissions or kickbacks for the F-16 deal between Taiwan and the US might be just too imaginative," he said.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Tang made the statement at a defense committee of the legislature as part of his response to inquiries from lawmakers about allegations by New Party presidential candidate Li Ao (
Li said the questionable flow of NT$140 million into the bank account of Soong Cheng-yuan (
Li based part of his allegations upon a passage in the book About Face: A history of America's curious relationship with China, from Nixon to Clinton, which was written by senior US journalist James Mann.
In the book there is a passage about a private meeting in Jan. 1992 between Soong, then KMT secretary-general and the then US Vice President Dan Quayle, with no clear description about what the two were meeting for.
"The F-16 deal is based on a government-to-government agreement between Taiwan and the US. We signed a contract with the US government first," Tang said.
"Then the US government signed contracts with the companies involved in the manufacture of F-16s for Taiwan," the minister said.
"The companies involved will be allowed to profit from the deal. But those profits are kept within certain limits," Tang said.
"Besides, the whole procedure has been closely monitored by the US Congress," Tang said. "I have never heard of any commission-taking in connection with F-16 deals so far."
Tang said he disagreed with Li over his remarks about the alleged kickbacks for the F-16 deal.
"If Taiwan did pay extra money for the F-16 deal, it was upon our request, so as to share the research and development fees for the F-16 with other countries that were also buying this kind of aircraft from the US," Tang said.
"The US air force does not have to pay this extra charge. But such practices apply to all users outside the US, not just Taiwan."
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