The Control Yuan yesterday confirmed that it set up a special committee last week to investigate news reports that the air force's 1992 deal to purchase 60 Mirage fighter jets involved the payment of kickbacks.
A report in a French newspaper prompted New Party lawmaker Elmer Fung (
Control Yuan member Chao Chang-pin (趙昌平) yesterday told the Taipei Times that the special committee had been established last week and that it was similar to the committee investigating the Lafayette frigate scandal.
Chao said the group comprises five Control Yuan members -- himself, Liao Jiann-nan (廖健男), Ma Yi-kung (馬以工), Ku Den-mei (古登美) and Lin Shih-chi (林時機). Ma and Ku are also members of the committee investigating the Lafayette scandal.
Chao said that Vice Minister of Defense Chen Pi-chao (
According to Chao, Chen said that no kickbacks had been paid to seal the deal.
But he added that "the denial itself is insufficient to convince the public. Since the Ministry of National Defense has not investigated the deal, its attitude is not acceptable."
After the briefing, the Control Yuan members officially formed the special committee on the grounds that the defense ministry had not provided an adequate explanation.
According to several reports in Taiwan's Chinese-language media, the Mirage-2000-5 model which Taiwan purchased cost twice as much as the basic Mirage-2000 model.
The original purchase price per aircraft was to have been NT$42 million, but an increase in that price subsequently caused the Legislative Yuan to budget a further NT$10 billion to purchase the 60 fighters.
When Fung petitioned the Control Yuan to investigate the allegations he also demanded an explanation from former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who, a recent book claims, made the decision to go ahead with the deal in 1992.
"A Mirage-2000 is twice as expensive as an F-16," Feng had said. "Obviously it was a bad decision by Lee which cost the government more money [than necessary]. The products were not as good as we had expected. I think Lee should explain whether there was any personal interest or favoritism involved."
Fung quoted an Oct. 30 article in the French newspaper Le Monde. According to the story, French investigators froze the Swiss bank accounts of Andrew Wang (汪傳浦) -- the former Taiwan agent of French frigate-maker Thomson CSF, now called Thales, and fighter- maker Dasault Aviation -- after suspecting that he had earned NT$11.4 billion in kickbacks connected with the Mirage deal.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
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