The government is to launch a comprehensive inspection of all major transportation projects to determine if officials had accepted bribes from the French company Alstom, Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said yesterday.
The Levallois-Perret-based firm had agreed to pay US$772 million to the US earlier this week after pleading guilty to bribery charges following an investigation by the US Department of Justice.
The US investigation showed that between 2000 and 2010, Alstom had paid more than US$75 million in bribes to secure US$4 billion in contracts around the world, including in Egypt, Indonesia and Taiwan.
US Deputy Attorney General James Cole said on Monday that the bribery scheme “was astounding in its breadth, its brazenness and its worldwide consequences.”
Taiwan’s alleged involvement in the Alstom’s bribery scheme was brought up by lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which was scheduled to review construction funds for the high-speed rail system.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), who presided over the budget review session, said that reports showed that Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) and Taipei Rapid Transport Corp (TRTC) had conducted business with Alstom in the past.
The VAL256-model trains deployed on the Taipei MRT’s Wenhu Line (Line 1) use electric, mechanical and signaling systems produced by Alstom, while Taipower uses Alstom’s turbine engines for its thermal power plants, she said.
Yeh Yi-jin said that she has evidence that Alstom was involved in the construction of the nation’s Airport Rail.
She added that a former low-level civil servant in the TRTC was hired by Alstom to work in the French company’s branch office.
She questioned whether officials involved in Airport Rail project might have also accepted bribes from the French multinational company.
In response, Yeh Kuang-shih said that the ministry would conduct a comprehensive inspection of all transport projects under its supervision.
The Bureau of High Speed Rail said the Marubani Corp secured the overall contract for the Airport Rail’s signaling system, which then outsourced the contract of installing the system to Siemens. Alstom is not involved in the project.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS