Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over what they called its failure to follow up on an aid payment to Kiribati which has apprently gone missing.
“It came as a shock yesterday [Tuesday] when a media outlet in New Zealand reported that a A$1.7 million [US$1.4 million] aid payment from Taiwan to Kiribati has disappeared,” DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a press conference at the legislature in Taipei. “It’s even more shocking that, when we contacted the ministry, it said the issue was still unclear and that it was checking on it, and it wasn’t until very late last [Tuesday] night that the ministry confirmed it in a press release.”
Hsiao said that according to the information she has gathered, the aid was given by check to the government of Kiribati in January for boats to connect the nation’s main island with its outlying islands.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“However, nothing happened in July when the boats were supposed to have been delivered,” she said. “Yet, the government sent another aid payment of A$1 million to Kiribati for a disaster relief fund.”
She criticized the ministry for “not following up on the missing payment, but granting more aid.”
“During the DPP administration, former National Security Council secretary-general Chiou Yi-jen (邱義仁) was detained when it was suspected that a payment to Papua New Guinea had gone missing, yet the ministry is now not doing anything when it’s clear that the money has been embezzled,” Hsiao said.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) questioned why the ministry would give cash to Kiribati after there have been so many previous problems with foreign aid.
“Helping countries in need is a good thing, but why give them cash and give the people involved a chance to embezzle the money?” Tsai asked. “Taiwan has a very good shipbuilding industry — why not build the ships in Taiwan and deliver them to Kiribati? Wouldn’t that be helpful to both the people of Kiribati and the Taiwanese shipbuilding industry?”
Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Elliott Charng (常以立) rejected the criticism.
“The ministry has been following up on the aid and we showed our concern to top officials in Kiribati when the ships were not finished at the scheduled time,” Charng said. “Kiribati has launched both a domestic investigation as well as an international investigation in collaboration with the Interpol.”
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