DPP DEMANDS FORMER PREMIER HAU EXPLAIN LAFAYETTE KICKBACKS
ROC Central News Agency
2005-11-24 16:13:10
Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) The legislative caucus of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) demanded that former premier Hau Pei-tsun and two other senior military officers open up their bank accounts to see if they had taken kickbacks from the purchase of the ROC Navy's Lafayette-class frigates.
The DPP caucus also questioned the motives of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) legislators who were trying to stop the government from releasing Swiss-provided files before the Dec. 3 elections, claiming that the KMT fears this would negatively impact the party's campaigning.
Chao Yung-ching, convener of the DPP caucus, said his caucus now has "first-hand data" from abroad and from the Control Yuan and other government agencies concerning the flows of Lafayette-frigate kickbacks totalling US$486 million that was first handed to Andrew Wang, an arms broker and key suspect in the scandal.
DPP Legislator Kao Chih-peng said the French authorities remitted US$486 million to Wang's bank accounts in Switzerland, from which Wang transmitted US$120 million to Luxemburg, and then US$40 million to the bank accounts of Wang himself and his family members in Taiwan and US$20 million to the bank accounts of the brothers Kuo Li-heng and Kuo Wen-tien. The former Kuo is serving a life sentence for another corruption scandal.
Rumors even have it that the People's Liberation Army of China received US$366 million "commission for keeping silent on" Taiwan's purchase of the advanced navy ships, according to Kao.
He said Hau was the mastermind behind the decision of buying French instead of South Korean frigates; former navy commander-in-chief Yeh Chang-tung put forward an inflated budget proposal for purchasing the six French frigates; and former senior political warfare officer Yang Ting-yun suspended an official investigation of the military's unreasonable budgeting for the arms procurement plan.
These three former KMT officials should open their bank accounts for the public to see if they had taken any kickbacks from the Lafayette frigate deal, Kao said.
Instead of facilitating the investigation of the whereabouts of the US$486 million in kickbacks, KMT legislators Huang Teh-fu, Huang Chao-shun and Lai Shyh-bao asked Prosecutor-General Wu Ying-chao not to publish the Swiss files before the city and county elections, said William C.T. Lai, secretary-general of the DPP caucus. "Are they worried that publishing the files will collapse their party's election campaign?" Lai added.
The KMT legislative caucus, suspicious that the ruling camp wants to manipulate the use of the top-secret files, responded by urging the prosecutor-general to release the files immediately in front of the eyes of the media and political party representatives.
Tseng Yung-chuan, executive director of the KMT Central Policy Committee, said Wu had promised to keep the files absolutely confidential last week, and yet the DPP was releasing the data in a bid to influence voters. "We suggest that the prosecutor-general release the Lafayette kickback files tomorrow in the presence of the media and party representatives, but he must ensure that the files are intact before he unseals them," Tseng added.
Huang Chao-shun and Huang Teh-fu said if the DPP "data" is credible, does that mean the prosecutor-general had been colluding with the DPP's election strategists, including National Security Council Secretary-General Chiou I-jen, who is the DPP's chief campaign strategist?
In Taichung, where he was stumping for Mayor Jason Hu, Hau said he welcomes anyone who can show evidence proving he had taken money from the Lafayette deal. He added that he will make public his bank accounts should prosecutors demand he do so.
(By S.C. Chang)
ENDITEM/mw
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