A law enforcement official yesterday confirmed that investigators had raided a company suspected of shipping banned machinery to North Korea via a Chinese firm with ties to Pyongyang's military.
The owner of the firm, Ho Li Enterprises, said that two computer-controlled machine tools used in the manufacture of engines were shipped to North Korea earlier this year, but said he was unaware he had broken the law.
The owner, surnamed Huang (黃), said that his company's premises were raided in July by law enforcement officials acting on a tip from the US government.
The law enforcement official confirmed the shipment and raid had taken place but did not discuss US involvement. The American Institute in Taiwan declined to comment on the claim, but said it cooperates closely with Taiwan on enforcing export controls and stemming the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The raid took place as the administration of US President Barack Obama was working on a new set of sanctions against North Korea that were unveiled last month, targeting the assets of individuals, companies and organizations allegedly linked to support for its nuclear program.
North Korea has repeatedly tried to circumvent international strictures designed to stymie its production of missiles and nuclear material and other weapons of mass destruction.
Taiwanese companies are no strangers to sanction-busting attempts. Early last year, Shanghai's Roc-Master Manufacture & Supply Co ordered pressure gauges with possible nuclear weapons applications from Taiwan's Heli-Ocean Technology Co. Using backdated purchase orders, the Chinese firm had Heli-Ocean ship them to Iran. The transaction violated international sanctions on exporting sensitive equipment to Tehran, which many in the international community suspect is trying to make nuclear weapons.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Huang said the machine tools were originally ordered “more than a year ago,” but were shipped only after Ho Li's Chinese client, Dandong Fang Lian Trading Co in China's Liaoning Province, was able to pay for them.
While acknowledging that the tools ended up in North Korea, he said he had no idea how they would be used or why they would appear on any list of sanctioned items.
The North Korean machine tool deal was first reported yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister paper). An official with the Taipei branch of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the machine tool shipment violated international sanctions and Taiwanese trade laws. He did not identify the items in question or specify why they violated sanctions.
He said that Dandong Fang Lian is managed by a North Korean national with an unspecified connection to the North's military, and that the machine tools had ended up in the North's Sinuiju region, across the Yalu River from Dandong. Sinuiju is the gateway for most Chinese goods entering North Korea.
“Ho Li sold two machine tools ... without reporting to the authorities that the equipment was really going to North Korea,” the official said. “We became aware of the violation and when we raided Ho Li in late July, we found e-mails and money transfer documents to prove our case,” the official said.
Huang said Dandong Fang Lian specializes in diesel engines and power generators, and that while he had done business with the company before, that was the first time he had shipped machine tools to the firm.
“I am cooperating with the government in its investigations,” he said.
Neither Ho Li nor Dandong Fang Lian appears on a US list of sanctioned companies.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is