MND to allow as many servicemen to vote as possible: new chief
ROC Central News Agency
2008-02-25 21:44:43
Taipei, Feb. 25 (CNA) Newly appointed Defense Minister Tsai Ming-shian said Monday that the ministry will let as many military servicemen as possible exercise their right to vote in the March 22 presidential election. "We will do our best to ensure the voting rights of the public, " Tsai said, but noted that some military personnel would have to remain at their posts to safeguard national security.
Tsai was responding to questions by Alex Fai, a caucus whip of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in the legislature, on how many military servicemen would be allowed to leave their posts to vote on election day.
The KMT believes that the Ministry of National Defense barred an excessively high number of servicemen from leaving their bases to vote on election day in 2004, one of the factors the party says contributed to its defeat by a razor-thin margin.
The KMT, which was entrenched in power for more than 50 years before 2000, commands a strong support base in the military.
Tsai said that the ministry will act in line with past practice to allow military personnel to exercise their voting rights, although "some definitely will have to remain at their posts for the sake of national security. "The ratio of military personnel remaining at their posts will vary with each military unit, and the MND will act according to the law," Tsai stressed.
He pledged to get the prior consent of the KMT's legislative caucus on the military's policy.
Responding to questions about the disbanding of a controversial private arms broker to handle Taiwan's military purchases, Tsai referred to Premier Chang Chun-hsiung's pledges made Saturday.
The premier, according to Tsai, said unequivocally that the government will not invest "even one dime" in the firm, and that it will soon be disbanded, while promising "everything will follow standard procedures governing companies."
Tsai replaced Lee Tien-yu, who stepped down Saturday for not "properly" handling the project. Tsai said he didn't know when asked if the arms firm, Taiwan Goal, will change its name or operate clandestinely.
But he said that if the government says "it will be disbanded, then it will be disbanded."
He also dismissed the possibility that it will reappear as a company with another name.
KMT lawmakers have questioned the "origins and lineup" of the company, charging that "it was designed to evade the supervision of the Legislative Yuan."
Although the MND has a 45 percent stake in the company and is its largest shareholder, Lee reportedly said the ministry had no control over the company. The remaining shares were mostly held by companies related to state-owned enterprises.
Taiwan Goal completed its registration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Jan. 28 as a private company, with capital of NT$1 billion (US$31.15 million) and paid-in capital totaling NT$80 million.
Wu Nai-jen, a ruling Democratic Progressive Party heavyweight and head of China Steel Machinery Corp. -- a subsidiary of the formerly state-owned China Steel Corp. -- was listed as chairman of the company.
Taiwan Goal is registered to deal in a variety of businesses, including the import and export of arms and weaponry systems; sales of garments and accessories, industrial explosives, precision instruments, and batteries of all types; and product design, according to the MOEA.
According to information provided by the Executive Yuan, the company's capital in its initial stage of operations will total NT$200 million. Of that amount, NT$80 million has already been collected, including NT$50 million from China Steel Machinery Corp. and NT$30 million from a subsidiary of Chunghwa Telecom.
But NT$90 million from the Ministry of National Defense, which had planned to hold 45 percent of the company's shares, and NT$30 million from the Yao Hua Glass Co. -- a company under the Ministry of Economic Affairs -- had yet to be deposited.
(By Lilian Wu)
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