Chinese opposition may halt German contract to build spacecraft
from CHINA NEWS, 18 August 1999Pressure from China may force Taiwan to terminate a collaborative contract with Germany's Dornier Satellite System for a joint venture to develop a spacecraft and one of two payloads to launch ROCSAT-2.
The National Science Council (NSC) has recently received a letter from Dornier saying it will not be able to acquire a permit for exports of high technology to Taiwan by the end of September. Dornier requested that the deadline be extended, National Science Council Chairman Hwang Jenn-tai was quoted by the China Times newspaper as saying yesterday.
According to an agreement signed between the NSC and Dornier in early February, Dornier is required to obtain the export permit by September 30. Hwang said his council had already sent a letter to Dornier saying it would terminate the contract and confiscate the bidding deposit of US$600,000 if Dornier failed to acquire the export permit by the deadline.
The deadline has already been extended twice, from the end of May to June 20, and then to September 30.
Sources from Taiwan's representative office in Germany said China was blocking the joint venture because it discovered that the ROCSAT-1, which boasts high-resolution remote sensing capability, could be used for military purposes.
ROCSAT-2, which will be Taiwan's second satellite, was originally scheduled to be launched between August and December 2002. The satellite will collect and transmit earth observational data for use in weather forecasting and carry several scientific experiments.
ROCSAT-1, Taiwan's first satellite launched on January 27, is solely dedicated to scientific research.
Dornier won the bid to build the spacecraft to launch ROCSAT-2, as well as the remote sensing instruments it would carry at a price of about NT$2.4 billion.Copyright 1999 China News
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