Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) is facing calls to explain allegations that she passed classified material about Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Submarine program to a foreign state, any link to the arrest of six South Korean engineers who worked on the project and her reasons to attempt to block the program’s budget.
Ma allegedly compiled more than 3,000 files relating to design and construction plans, which she passed on to the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau and the South Korean Mission in Taipei.
Political commentator and former KMT member Lee Zheng-hao (李正皓) yesterday said that the accusations were based on information from former naval commander Huang Cheng-hui (黃征輝).
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The files contained classified information that ended up in the hands of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Lee said.
The materials also included voice recordings between retired navy captain Kuo Hsi (郭璽), a consultant for the submarine program, and two foreign contractors, shown in the files as “SI” and “GL,” which Lee said refer to SI Innotec, a South Korean marine engineering firm, and Gavron Ltd, a firm registered in Gibraltar reportedly headed by retired British naval officers.
Beijing has for many years warned other countries against taking part in Taiwanese naval upgrades, so foreign contractors had to conceal their involvement, and register new companies outside their home countries to provide technical support and transfer new technology to help state-backed shipbuilder CSBC Corp Taiwan to complete the first domestic-built submarine, Lee said.
The six engineers were arrested because South Korean intelligence obtained the information, Lee said.
Authorities detained them when they returned home last year amid an investigation into leaking of trade secrets while working for SI Innotec, he said.
The engineers, who were helping Taiwan’s cause, are barred from leaving South Korea, he said, adding that the evidence is clear that Ma has contravened national security regulations by passing high-level classified files to a foreign state.
She must face charges of contravening Article 109 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, he said.
“I urge Ma to halt her re-election campaign so that she can concentrate on facing a judicial investigation,” he added.
Meanwhile, Justin Wu (吳崢), a former New Power Party member who is running for a legislative seat in New Taipei City for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), accused Ma of abusing her position as a member of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee by taking every opportunity to interfere with the submarine program.
Wu presented documents from when he worked as a legislative aide, showing that when the committee deliberated on the submarine’s design, Ma sought to cut NT$1.42 billion (US$44.02 million) from the program’s budget, proposing a NT$610 million cut in 2019 and NT$810 million in 2020.
“Ma sought to interfere with the submarine program from start to finish, and wanted to cut most of its budget,” Wu said. “She does not want Taiwan to have its own indigenous submarines.”
Ma was one of a number of KMT and pan-blue camp legislators who fought vigorously against the program, he said.
Kuo has in media interviews accused Ma of “betraying our nation” and that she had labeled the submarines “undersea coffins.”
He has said that he accompanied Ma on visits to China, where she was treated as a special guest and had meetings with officials from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.
Ma yesterday said that Kuo and others were trying to shift blame.
“Most people do not understand the program details,” she said. “Most of the revealed information came from Kuo and DPP politicians, as many of them also participated in closed-door legislative deliberations about the program.”
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS