The disturbances of Taiwan authorities' arms purchase bill valued at 610.8 billion new Taiwan dollars (TND) have far from coming to an end. On the one hand, this arms purchase plan has failed to be passed for the fourth time by the "Legislation Yuan", and is now facing the predicament of reaching a deadlock; on the other hand, there is no sign of the slightest weakening of the masses' demonstration against arms purchase. The latest poll conducted by Taiwan's "ministry of national defense" shows that among the young and middle-aged people aged between 30 and 50, over one half are opposed to the arms purchase plan, those supporting arms purchase are mostly the non-mainstream-stratum people aged below 30 and above 50. The latest poll published by the Kuomintang "Legislation Yuan" shows that over one-fourth of the public surveyed suggest completely canceling the arms purchase budget.

How was the 610.8 billion Taiwan-dollar worth of arms purchase bill worked out, and how have US and Taiwan munitions merchants colluded with each other? China Times and other Taiwan media recently vied with one another to expose the inside story.

Four mysterious Americans

In the US-Taiwan arms deal, a greater part of the arms are produced by the branches set up by US weapons manufacturers in the island. Among them are four mysterious Americans, they all have their Chinese names: Su Jen-Sheng, manager of Taiwan Branch of Lockheed-Martin; Shi Ming-Kai, manager of Taiwan Branch of another US company; He Ching-Shan, manager of Taiwan Branch of Boeing; and Lei Li-Bo, Taiwan manager of Northrop Grumman. These four people have a very deep American military background.

Lockheed-Martin is the largest of these companies, the weapons it produces include EP-3 reconnaissance planes as well as "Aegis" destroyer which Taiwan authorities are thirsting for buying it. In September 2003, Taiwan military held a public bidding for the "Bosheng Program" of the three armed services joint operation command system Lockheed-Martin gobbled down this piece of fat meat worth 100 billion Taiwan dollars. Several other companies also sold large quantities of arms to Taiwan, for instance, Boeing's "fish fork" anti-ship missiles, "avenger" anti-aircraft missile and Apache helicopter, the E-2C eagle-eye early-warning system produced by Northrop Grumman Company is priced as high as US$200 million.

These arms dealers collude with each other while engaging in competition and formed themselves into the "US-Taiwan commercial association" which is specially in charge of looking for business opportunities for US munitions enterprises in Taiwan, its previous chairmen were all defense ministers relieved of office, the annual "US-Taiwan defense industry forum" is undertaken by this organization. At the US Phoenix City Conference this year, assistant defense secretary threatened that if Taiwan does not pass the arms purchase bill worth 610.8 billion Taiwan dollars, it will become a burden on, not a partner of, the United States.

Agencies of influential families

Because Taiwan's "cake of arms purchase" is really too big, which simply can't be gobbled down by US munitions branches, so they hand it to Taiwan's agencies. Lockheed-Martin alone has eight agents in the island. A recent article carried in Taiwan's "Times Weekly" reveals: There is a group of businessmen in Taipei who are both wealthy and low-key, except the insiders, few people know them, and they are not targets of snapshot by magazines. This group of mysterious persons specializes in having transactions with the military, they are generally called "arms dealers". What is mentioned here are precisely those native agents.

The agents earn quite handsome profits. In order to obtain the authority of agencies, many people even let their own beautiful wives personally receive senior US responsible persons. According to Taiwan journalist Mr. Lin who is familiar with the inside story of US-Taiwan arms deal, because the "weapon procurement management office of the ministry of national defense" has the right to make suggestions on military purchase, therefore US munitions companies basically look for suitable personnel from within Taiwan armed forces or from among their relatives, place them at the posts as their own agents after their retirement. These people have the army-building plan and the staff of Taiwan's military at their fingers-tips, many of the personnel are even the superiors of the purchasers in the army, thus making things particularly easy in their work.

Four major steps in arms deals

Through their branches and agencies, US munitions merchants have set up easily accessible transaction networks. According to Mr. Lin, the process of US-Taiwan munitions transactions approximately includes four major steps.

First, the United States presents a detailed transaction list. The US munitions group try by all means to agitate Taiwan to buy the weapons they designated. Usually the think-tank is first asked to fabricate a "report on China's military strength", giving detailed introduction to what equipment the Liberation Army has added, then Taiwan authorities are told what they should buy. For example, in 2003, the United States frantically played up the "mainland missiles threat", pointing out that Taiwan should at least have six sets of "Patriot-3 missile systems before they can guarantee security. Therefore, on this year's arms purchase list worth 610.8 billion Taiwan dollars, there are exactly six sets of such missile systems. Then US congressmen and defense officers who have close relations with the munitions groups began to formally lobby Taiwan authorities. In September last year, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said to visiting Taiwan officials that the anti-submarine planes should be the item of priority purchase by Taiwan. At the end of April, during Taiwan's "presidential office secretary-general" Chiu Yi-Jen's secrete visit to the United States, the country handed him a detailed list, which included 12 P3C anti-submarine planes.

Second, Taiwan bargained with the United States over prices, but the room left for which was limited. Mr. Lin told this reporter that since US arms sales to Taiwan are prompted completely by its own interests, therefore Taiwan basically has no room for bargaining. Take the 610.8 billion Taiwan dollars worth of arms purchase program for example, what Taiwan wants to get most is "Aegis" destroyer, but this was categorically rejected by the United States out of its consideration of strategic balance; with regard to Taiwan authorities' demand for submarines, although the United States agreed to sell them eight submarines, but it thwarted their goal of "self-production of submarines", with an aim to always put Taiwan in a buyer's position. With regard to weapons Taiwan doesn't want to buy, the United States tries its utmost to thrust them upon Taiwan. Take long-range early warning radar for example. This actually is the need for America's establishment of a TMD (Theater Missile Defense) system, which is tantamount to asking Taiwan to buy it to guard the door for the United States.

Third, Taiwan's "Legislation Yuan" is responsible for deliberation. On May 21 this year, the day after his assumption of office, Li Chie, "minister of national defense", sent the arms purchase budget to the "Legislative Yuan"; on June 2, the "Administrative Yuan" formally passed the arms purchase bill and then sent it to the "Legislation Yuan" for deliberation. In order to accomplish the transaction smoothly, America and Taiwan joined efforts to work with the "Legislation Yuan". In mid-June, a Taiwan arms purchase investigation group first arrived at the Hawaii US Pacific Headquarters, then to Washington and finally visited the "Patriot--3" missile base in Texas state. During the period, the US government assigned many State Department officials, high-level officers of the Pentagon and think-tank experts to hold discussions with Taiwan's "legislation committee members" and lobby them time and again.

Fourth is installment payment and spread delivery. Mr. Lin told the reporter. In past years, the arms purchase programs were passed smoothly, but this year they have met with many obstacles due to the huge sum of money and mounting popular discontent. Once this arms purchase program is passed, it will enter into the stage of installment payment and spread delivery. The time limit for the island to pay the 610.8 billion Taiwan dollars bill will last from 2005 to 2019; US weapons are not be in place at one ingle step, the first submarine will be delivered in 2013, and the first set of "Patriot-3" missiles will not arrive in Taiwan until 2009.

Each shares a cup of broth

Since Taiwan's arms purchase program has always been operated under the counter, there are many shady arms deals, the question of commission is a striking example. According to Mr. Lin, for the American part, six big interest groups need to have a share of money, i.e., munitions merchants, Congress, administrative department, army, think-tank and media. Whereas on the part of Taiwan, each person handling the transaction has a share of a cup of broth, including agents, related military personnel and some "legislation committee members". This is precisely the main reason why Taiwan's arms purchase price can never be cut down. Statistics show that the national defense budgets of United States and Britain, the two countries with the biggest military expenditures in the world, account for 10 percent and 8 percent respectively of their tax revenues; whereas in Taiwan, a tiny piece of land, its ordinary "national defense budge" alone accounts for 20 percent of its tax revenue, plus the special budget, adds up to 30 percent of its tax income, three-fold that of the United States.

If the present arms purchase bill is passed, the follow-up expenditures including those on components and parts and maintenance of these weapons and equipment, are even more alarming. Taiwan's munitions circles have such a saying "buying weapons only means drinking soup, only buying parts and components can mean eating meat". This being the case, the real value of this batch of munitions will be several times the sum of 610.8 billion Taiwan dollars. Such a huge sum of money supports those vested interest-holders who live in luxurious houses capable of anchoring pleasure-boats; whereas those who suffer are Taiwan's ordinary people, no wonder that the anti-arms purchase movement continues unabated.

Analysts point out that Taiwan authorities think that spending huge sums of money on buying munitions is just like buying insurance, because that makes the United States duty-bound to protect Taiwan's security. But this is not the fact, Secretary of State Colin Powell's warning issued before US general election, and US President George W. Bush's attitude on the Taiwan issue made clear after his reelection both reflect their unprecedented impatience of "Taiwan independence". Chen Shui-bian's practice of "resisting reunification by force" is losing its market. Just as former US Secretary of Defense William Perry said that Taiwan's spending so much money on arms purchase would finally harm the island itself.

This article written by Global Times reporter Wu Wei was carried on the front page of this newspaper, November 15, 2004, and translated by People's Daily Online