Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (
Lee Jye yesterday arranged private visits to a few legislators in the south, including independent Legislator Su Yin-kuei (蘇盈貴), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) to seek their support on the controversial arms purchase deal with the US.
"The minister said that the public consensus was that the price was too high. He offered a solution saying the budget could still be passed with the budget for submarine purchases left blank, for further negotiation with the US," Su said.
"The minister also proposed enabling China Shipbuilding Corp (中船) to participate in at least 30 percent of the submarine-building exercise with the help of the Ministry of Economic Affairs," Su said.
Huang also said that the minister said the price was still negotiable, although she contradicted Su by stating that the minister said that Taiwan did not have the technical capability to build its own submarines.
"The minister said that he got wind of information that the US is prepared to lower the price, and that the US is likely to sell the AEGIS defense system to Taiwan, although these things still need to be confirmed after Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) returns to Taiwan," Lee said.
Lee said that the minister said that building submarines locally would not be possible.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
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