Premier
admits existence of arms firm
COMPANY HEAD: DPP member Wu
Nai-jen said he would resign from the post after the election to allow the
nation's next president to appoint a new company leader
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Feb 15, 2008, Page 1
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday confirmed the existence of an arms
dealing company called Taiwan Goal, but emphasized that it is a "private" firm.
Forty-five percent of the firm's initial capital was sourced from the Ministry
of Defense.
Chang said the government was happy to see such a company established and was
funding its operations.
Chang declined, however, to comment on the function of the company.
Chang made the remarks in response to questions about a report in yesterday's
Chinese-language China Times that said the administration "secretly established"
an arms company.
The newspaper said that Vice Premier Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) was behind the operation
and that Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), a stalwart of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP)
now disbanded New Tide Faction, was tipped to become the president of the newly
founded company.
The report said the company, Taiwan Goal, had been up and running for about six
months and would serve as a platform to integrate the arms industry and arms
procurement projects. In addition, the firm would export domestically produced
arms, the report said.
Regarding Wu's appointment, Chang said appointees to the firm could be changed
in the future.
Chang said that appointing a political figure to the position was not a problem
because the position is unpaid and does not come with a public vehicle or
chauffeur.
Wu yesterday issued a statement confirming that Taiwan Goal had been established
last month and that he was serving as president without pay.
Wu said the company was a private business. However, he said he would resign
from the post after the election in May to allow the nation's next president to
appoint a new company chief.
Since the company was established at the end of last month, Wu said that it was
in talks with several arms suppliers abroad about jointly providing arms
maintenance services.
Wu said he did not expect to see any contracts signed before May 20, the
inauguration date of the new president.
Wu said the purpose of the company was to serve as a bridge between foreign
suppliers and domestic buyers and ensure the maintenance of weapons systems,
while driving the domestic military and the defense industry to upgrade
technology.
Minister of National Defense Lee Tien-yu (李天羽) said separately yesterday that 45
percent of Taiwan Goal's initial capital came from the Ministry of National
Defense, adding that the ministry would hold a press conference today to
elaborate on the functions of the company.
In response to the news, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate
Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday called on the government not to make any major
changes before the next president takes office.
"As a caretaker government, it should not make any big moves or changes.
Otherwise society will pay a hefty price when the new government makes changes
again later," Ma said.
KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) questioned the Ministry of National Defense's
role in the establishment of the company.
Lin said the company was established by the government in exchange for help from
the New Tide Faction with DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷)
campaign.
"Chiou I-jen and Wu Nai-jen [who were affiliated with the faction] alone are
able to decide on NT$50 billion [US$1.5 million] in annual defense industry
transactions ... I believe that the establishment of the company was an
under-the-table deal [between the DPP and the faction]," Lin told a press
conference.
KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-min (帥化民) accused the DPP of attempting to embezzle
defense resources before President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) leaves office.
"Arms procurement requires professional knowledge and should not be entrusted to
a private company ... The [KMT] caucus will never allow it to exist," Shuai
said.
Lin threatened to impeach Lee over the investment.
Taiwan
Strait a major threat to US: top official
ANNUAL ASSESSMENT: Thomas
Fingar of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence gave testimony
before a House hearing on global threats
By Charles Snyder
STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON
Friday, Feb 15, 2008, Page 1
A top US intelligence official has warned that the danger of military
confrontation in the Taiwan Strait is one of the most worrying potential threats
facing the US in coming years.
Thomas Fingar, the deputy director of the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence, made the comment on Wednesday in testimony before a hearing of the
House Armed Services Committee on the US intelligence community's annual
assessment of global threats to US security.
"The danger of [the situation in the Strait] spinning out of control is real,"
Fingar said.
Asked by committee members about the biggest potential threats to US security,
the intelligence analyst cited global terrorism as the top danger.
Beyond that threat, Fingar said, "in terms of conventional military threats, I
think the greatest danger is one of misperception, miscalculation or escalation
of regional conflicts."
"To be more specific," Fingar said, singling out Taiwan, danger could stem from
"miscalculation by any of the parties involved in watching the Taiwan Strait
situation -- by Taiwan, by the mainland, their perceptions of what we may or may
not do."
He said that the danger could come from "judgments about what anticipatory or
pre-emptive actions may be necessary in order to deter one or the other of the
parties. The danger of that spinning out of control is real."
On a broader level, aside from terrorism, Fingar said, China's military buildup
is the largest potential threat.
"Improvements in China's theater range missile capability will put US forces at
greater risk from conventional weapons. In addition, Beijing seeks to modernize
China's strategic nuclear force to address concerns about the survivability of
those systems," Fingar said.
"If present trends in global development of China's space capabilities continue
... China will have an increasing ability to target US military, intelligence
and navigational satellites to degrade our command and control systems and our
ability to use effectively our precision weapons systems," he said.
In a lengthy written statement presented to the committee, Fingar mentioned
Taiwan's presidential election and planned referendums on UN membership.
In this, he echoed his boss, Michael McConnell, the director of national
intelligence, who testified on the annual assessment to the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence last week.
Fingar's statement, like McConnell's, said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)
"is seeking to affirm Taiwan's sovereignty and separate identity from the
mainland."
Fingar also said that China's leaders "say they are prepared for military
contingencies and have occasionally cited Beijing's 2005 `Anti-Secession' Law,
which authorized the use of force if Beijing's leaders deem it necessary."
Chen urges
Beijing to resume negotiations
COME HOME: Chen told a
gathering of China-based businesspeople that Taipei was pushing for more
cross-strait exchanges, but now was a good time to invest in Taiwan
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Feb 15, 2008, Page 3
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) urged Beijing yesterday to resume bilateral
negotiations as soon as possible, especially on normalizing trade relations.
"I would like to take this opportunity to urge the Chinese government to make
efforts to advance the normalization of bilateral ties with sincerity and
wisdom," Chen said.
Taiwan's government would continue to adhere to the principle of "stand firm on
its position and march forward with practicality" and "active management,
effective opening," he said.
Chen made the remarks at a Lunar New Year get-together for Taiwanese
businesspeople based in China that was organized by the Straits Exchange
Foundation.
Chen said the government would push bilateral trade exchanges step by step -- as
long as national security and national interest were upheld -- and continue to
commit itself to security, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the
Asia-Pacific region.
Taipei and Beijing first agreed on a charter flight service for the Lunar New
Year in January 2005, and flights have been offered for subsequent holidays.
Beijing, however, since January last year Beijing has delayed the negotiations
for Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, passenger charter flight and cargo charter
flight services, Chen said.
Given the sharply rising costs of labor, land and energy in China, Taiwanese
businesspeople in China should diversify their investments, he said, adding that
now was a good time for them to think about returning home to invest.
China's new labor law is expected to increase labor costs by 20 percent to 40
percent, Chen said. In order to keep their competitive edge, Taiwanese business
sector based in China must upgrade their businesses or transform themselves, he
said.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) urged Beijing to
set aside political considerations and return to the negotiation table. He said
the government is studying the possibility of easing the 40 percent ceiling of
China-bound investment.
In a bid to encourage domestic businesses to lease land in local industrial
parks, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) told the audience that the Cabinet has
agreed to inject an additional NT$20 billion (US$627.8 million) into a
preferential land rental package.
The Cabinet had approved other measures to lure Taiwanese companies to invest at
home, he said.
Steven Tsai (蔡來居), a businessman based in Dongguan, China, said he has decided
to move back with his family. China's dramatic policy changes and his age were
the main reasons for his decision, he said.
Yeh Fei-cheng (葉飛呈), who is based in Zhuhai, China, said he would not close down
his Chinese factory to return home because his business is doing well.
He opened the Zhuhai factory about five years ago mainly because of cheaper
labor, he said, though recent Chinese policy changes have hiked his operational
costs by 20 percent to 30 percent.
He said he would like to see the government do more to help China-based
Taiwanese businesspeople.
"I never got any help from the government," he said. "How do you expect a child
to ask help from his parents when they fight all the time?"
Hsieh rebuts
informant allegations
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTERS
Friday, Feb 15, 2008, Page 3
 |
| Democratic
Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh, center, and two of
his campaign officials hold up copies of newspaper articles yesterday as
he defends himself against claims he spied on democracy activists during
the Martial Law era.
|
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷)
threatened to take legal action yesterday against those accusing him of being an
informant during the Martial Law era.
He repeated his comments from Wednesday that the allegation was part of a
conspiracy to smear him.
Producing copies of newspaper clips reporting on his fights with the Ministry of
Justice's Investigation Bureau during the Martial Law era, Hsieh denied
informing on democracy activists.
The allegation was a desperate effort to salvage Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) campaign, he said, adding that the
allegation "was just the appetizer and the main course is yet to come."
Hsieh said it was his understanding there were 10 people helping Ma with the
smear campaign.
These people have wanted to "decide the fate of the country" and have played
various roles over the years, he said.
Some of them were retired intelligence officials and knew a lot of inside
information, Hsieh said. Their supervisors did not dare expose them because they
knew their supervisors' weaknesses, he said.
Hsieh said he had been asked by the bureau to serve as an unpaid consultant for
an advisory commission on an anti-graft crackdown. That consulting job was not a
secret and newspapers had reported it, he said.
The 12 commission members included former Judicial Yuan vice president Cheng
Chung-mo (城仲模), former grand justice Yang Chien-Hua (楊建華) and prominent legal
experts such as Huan Tong-shong (黃東熊) and Tsai Tun-ming (蔡墩銘), he said.
Hsieh said he had joined the commission to push for "sunshine laws" and
"legalize" the bureau.
He said he had been under constant surveillance both before and after the DPP
was founded. Some people tried very hard to twist history, but facts are facts,
he said.
Ma spokesman Luo Chih-chiang (羅智強) yesterday dismissed Hsieh's claim that the
allegations were a trap set by the pan-blue camp. Luo said Hsieh should not
further damage his own reputation because the allegations would be backed by
solid evidence.
The KMT legislative caucus again questioned Hsieh's affiliation with bureau
during the Martial Law era yesterday.
KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) -- who alleged on Wednesday that Hsieh had secretly
informed on fellow democracy activists during the 1980s -- said yesterday that
the DPP candidate had failed to respond to the caucus' allegation that he had
worked as an informant for the bureau between 1981 and 1989.
Chiu said Hsieh had also been evasive when responding to questions on whether he
had received a great deal of money from the bureau for "betraying" democracy
activists.
Chiu said the copy of an official document signed by former bureau director Wang
Kuang-yu (王光宇) listing Hsieh as a "counselor" of the bureau that he showed at a
press conference on Wednesday proved Hsieh "had done a lot for the bureau"
before he was hired as a counselor in 1992.
"[Bureau] counselors meant high-ranking informants [back then]," Chiu said. "The
bureau promoted its informants to consultants after a long period of
evaluation."
Meanwhile, Hsieh raised more questions about Ma's green card status yesterday.
He said Ma had used the name "Mark Ma" on his green card. He also wanted to know
how many members of Ma's family had green cards and exactly when Ma's green card
became invalid.
Hsieh has accused Ma of having a green card since 1977, while Ma has said his
green card became invalid in 1985. Hsieh said he had produced evidence to back
his claim and expected Ma to reciprocate.
The
direction of Taiwanese politics
By Stephen Yates
Friday, Feb 15, 2008, Page 8
The dramatic results of last month's legislative elections and anticipation for
next month's presidential election have sparked a great deal of commentary on
the implications for the future of the country. Much of the commentary is highly
personalized, critiquing the current president and assessing the dramatic change
of fortunes among top political leaders.
Most international observers anticipate a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
victory in the presidential election and perhaps an enduring majority favoring
KMT rule in Taiwan, bringing with it an era of greater domestic and cross-strait
stability. There are of course no guarantees in politics. You can never tell
what might happen on a particular president's watch or how well he will govern.
And, as US primary candidates are learning, there is only one poll that counts
-- the actual vote.
Taiwan's presidential race is a contest between two personalities, both
representing a break from the current administration, and each trying to bridge
divisions within his own party. No matter who wins, a form of divided government
is likely to continue in Taiwan, but different from the form that dominated
President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) two terms in office.
If Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷)
surprises experts and wins the presidency, he will benefit from rejuvenated
enthusiasm within his party, but will face the challenge of governing with an
opposition supermajority in the legislature and perhaps shaping the composition
of his Cabinet. If the KMT again loses the presidency, despite its significant
standing in the legislature, it will likely have to face up to a dramatic
reassessment of the party's leadership, identity and approach to working with an
opposition president.
Many experts anticipated that such a reassessment or realignment might occur
following the 2000 election, especially with Chen's appointment of a KMT
premier, but instead a more raw form of partisan competition ensued.
If, as many anticipate, KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wins the presidency, he
will benefit from an era of unified party control of government not seen in
Taiwan since the early 1990s. But the biggest question he will face is how long
party unity will be sustained.
It appears that intense dislike for Chen, more than Ma's management skills, is
the glue holding the KMT coalition together. If Ma becomes president, he may
benefit from the marginalization of the opposition party, but be surprised by
bureaucratic and political divisions within his party.
The Republic of China Constitution offers no assurance of presidential
authority. It was written for an era of one-party rule dominated by a single
leader. But is Ma a leader of that stature? The KMT premier, legislative
speaker, party chairman and perhaps others could very plausibly claim to control
significant portions of the party's and the country's political agenda. It is
reasonable to question whether KMT leaders really have broad consensus on
economic security strategy, national defense (military and diplomatic) and
personnel appointments. Thus, even with nominal party unity across the
government, a new form of divided government is quite plausible.
In fact, more than the ups and downs of the DPP and Chen, KMT unity and disunity
has been the dominant factor in Taiwanese politics for the last decade, and will
remain so for some time to come. The divisions among former president Lee
Teng-hui (李登輝), former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), and People First Party
Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) directly contributed to Chen's surprising victory in
2000 with only 39 percent of the vote. The struggle for leadership and identity
of the party left the KMT just shy of victory in 2004, even with Lien and Soong
on the same ticket.
The traditional KMT base, dominant when unified, turned out for the election
last month and seems likely to do so again next month. But how long will the
unity last before competing agendas within the party once again divide it to
where the opposition has a real chance to compete? It certainly will not be
sustained if the KMT again loses the presidency. And even with victory,
supermajorities bring high expectations and great pressure, powerful enough to
break strong leaders and big parties.
Finally, as Chen's term comes to an end, it is natural to look back on his
tenure and attempt to put it in some form of historical context. It will require
the passage of time to allow for objective assessment of the Chen presidency.
Above all else, Chen appears driven by the mission of ensuring that no man,
party or outside power is ever again able to assert control over Taiwan's people
without their free and direct consent.
Twenty years from now, if Taiwan's democratic way of life is preserved, the
major political parties continue to reform and remain competitive and the people
of Taiwan have practiced when and how to effectively use their right to hold a
referendum, then Chen's tenure as president may be seen in a very different
context.
What is certain is that Chen will go down in history as the first to govern
Taiwan in an era of divided government. No one imagined in 2000 just how divided
it was and would remain throughout Chen's time in office. Opposition leaders
vigorously challenged the legitimacy of Chen's election victories, especially in
2004, and engaged in high-profile and highly partisan cross-strait diplomacy.
These actions undermined the stature and influence of the office of president. A
case can be made that many difficulties were brought upon Chen by his own
conduct, but it is also true that the structural and partisan obstacles he faced
would have challenged the most gifted politician.
Whichever party wins next month, one can only hope that the outcome will be
accepted as legitimate and opponents will not again allow partisan differences,
personal agendas or the agony of electoral defeat to unreasonably obstruct the
agenda of the next directly elected president.
Stephen Yates is president of DC Asia
Advisory, a Washington-based consulting firm, and former deputy assistant to US
vice president Dick Cheney for national security affairs.