Corruption via U.S. Arms Deals in Taiwan
How Taiwan's Chattering Political Elites Line Their Pockets
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9 March 2023
Corruption via U.S. Arms Deals in Taiwan
How Taiwan's Chattering Political Elites Line Their Pockets
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德
TAIPEI - With the recent release of over $8 billion dollars by the U.S. Congress to Taiwan to procure U.S. arms, it is time to ask tough questions.
Namely, queries on corruption in Taiwan.
Particularly with the upcoming Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) in September. Expected to be the largest in history.
I know via my relationships over 25 years in Taiwan that arms deals with the U.S. are shared via commissions that evolve into kickbacks to members of Taiwan’s legislative defense committee, political parties, and those who “assisted” the deal.
I know because even I have been offered a cut to be “helpful” writing positive articles promoting certain weapons that are in stiff competition.
I do not take such money, but I never forget the Taiwanese who offered me these deals. They shall forever go nameless, as I live here and do not want to get pushed in front of a bus.
But I also know the bipolar mindset inside the U.S. Defense Department on what actually goes on via the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) and the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program under the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
The first letter from 2009 from a U.S. Pentagon source below explains how corruption works in arms deals via the U.S. to Taiwan and the second letter from the same source is the blowback by the Pentagon and the U.S. defense industry to the article I wrote for Defense News based on the first letter.
Those who quibble over my allegations need only cross-reference U.S. defense companies and local Taiwan sales representatives: List of Foreign Companies and Identities of Taiwan Local Agents.
I would also like to point out that even the Taiwan military community no longer ignores U.S. corruption via “fund raiser” visits by U.S. politicians.
For the record, after the article appeared in Defense News I was called before senior officials in Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) and chewed out.
I never apologized. The reason the MND was upset was the article was written in a major U.S. publication. Had it been written in Chinese for a local publication, the MND would have ignored it.
However, the Taiwan print media took my article and put it on the front page and the top of the news on local Tv. This was never my intention, but served as an education to me on how powerful U.S. media can influence Taiwan.
The below letter, from the same source, with redactions, reflects the angry response within the U.S. government and U.S. defense industry from my attempt at unraveling the ball of twine.