A firm in which Chinese capital is invested is in charge of conducting maintenance work on Taiwanese military aircraft, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers said yesterday, warning that as a result, sensitive national defense information could be obtained by Beijing.
The AirAsia group won maintenance bids worth NT$230 million (US$7.85 million) for the air force’s fleet of B-1900 and FK-50 aircraft as well as the army’s CH47, OH-58 and TH67 helicopters last year, TSU Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) told a press conference.
Hong Kong-based Yangtse Development Co, owned by arms broker Yang Dong (楊棟), has purchased 2.5 million shares in Taiwan-listed Chuan Ting Co, which in turn invested in Taiwan Aerospace Corp (TAC), TSU Legislator Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲) said, adding that TAC controls 82 percent of the shares of AirAsia.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“Chuan Ting therefore owns 25 percent of the shares in AirAsia,” TSU Legislator Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) said.
Yangtse could possibly able to take control of AirAsia via a series of reinvestments, Hsu said, adding that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) should revoke the company’s bidding rights and the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ (MOEA) Investment Commission should launch an investigation into the matter.
Information related to crucial technology and maintenance manuals for fighter jets could be leaked to the Chinese and that is why the US has been reluctant to sell advanced weapons to Taiwan, Hsu said.
Hsiao Tien-liu (蕭天流), an official at the MND’s Armaments Bureau, said maintenance of core elements related to navigation, fire-control radars and electronic warfare was maintained exclusively by the military.
There has been no evidence that proves AirAsia had a military background or made investments with a military purpose, Hsiao said, adding that the company would be barred from bidding according to the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法) if wrongful motivation is confirmed.
Investment Commission Executive Director Chang Ming-ping (張銘彬) said the commission would launch an investigation within one month and submit its complete reports to the legislature.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
RSS