Legislative mission to visit U.S. over arms procurement deal
ROC Central News Agency
2007-08-14 01:22:25
Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) A legislative delegation will set off on an 11-day visit to the United States Tuesday to facilitate its assessment of a plan to purchase eight U.S.-built diesel-electric submarines, Legislative Yuan Defense Committee sources said Monday.
The delegation, composed of legislators from across the party spectrum, will visit Washington, D.C. and Boston and make a transit stop in Los Angeles while canceling its original plan to tour U.S. military base in Hawaii, the sources said.
Because of media criticism and partisan disputes over the trip, the sources said, Vice Defense Minister Ko Cheng-heng has canceled his plan to join the group and the duration and itinerary of the trip have both shortened.
According to an Aug. 7 meeting between legislative and military staff, the sources said the delegation will be composed of nine lawmakers, including Liao Wan-ju and Shui Hua-ming from the main opposition Kuomintang, Shen Fa-hui and Chang Hua-kuan from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and Ho Ming-hao of the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
The number of Ministry of National Defense (MND) staff members to accompany the lawmakers on the visit will also be reduced, the sources said.
In response to media criticism that the trip could be a waste of taxpayers' money, the sources said legislators will have to foot part of the travel bills out of their own pockets. The remaining fees will be paid by the MND and the Legislative Yuan, the sources said, adding that none of the expenditures will come from the NT$200 million budget set aside for assessing feasibility of the submarine deal.
Besides visiting the U.S. Pentagon, the sources said, the delegation will also call at the U.S. Navy headquarters and some shipyards on the U.S. East Coast.
(By Sofia Wu)
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