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回覆 #18 ViewSonic 的文章
９月１１日 華盛頓權威的 Defense News 刊出一篇報導 “U.S. Warns Taiwan: Clean Up Defense Procurement”, 道盡臺美關係之重重危機, 以及民進黨和國民黨立法委員的腐敗樣相, 令人不勝痛心！
全文由Taiwanmilitary.org加以轉貼. 筆者今謹轉貼全文, 並擇其要點, 翻譯如下:
Taiwanmilitary.org
http://www.taiwanmilitary.org/ph ... e2b14362e59fefe6960
DEFENSE NEWS
Posted 09/11/06 11:10
U.S. Warns Taiwan: Clean Up Defense Procurement
By WENDELL MINNICK, TAIPEI
U.S. officials are warning Taiwan that time and patience are running out on defense procurement reform ― that Taipei must get serious about fighting corruption and stop using arms deals as political footballs.
(美國官員警告台灣，美國對軍購一事已經越來越無法忍耐了 － 台北必須用心打擊貪汚, 切勿繼續把軍購拿來當作政治足球踢來踢去。)
“2006 will go down as either the year when the U.S.-Taiwan defense relationship takes a nose dive or the year of recovery. The ball is in Taiwan’s court. More specifically, it is in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan’s court,” said a senior U.S. defense source in Washington. ｡ “In the previous two years, the U.S. took mostly a passive wait-and-see mode. Now there are more talks [in Washington] of taking an active reduction/blockage mode if Taiwan does not do something.”
(根據華盛頓的軍方所說“2006 這一年, 美國和台灣的軍事防衛關係若不是大壞, 就是恢復元氣。說白一點, 球在台灣這邊。” “前兩年，美國主要是採取一種被動的等著瞧的作法。現在[在華盛頓 ]越來越多人在說, 如果台灣再不行動, 美國就要採取減少/防堵 (reduction/blockage mode)的作法。)
Taiwanese and U.S. sources said Washington has made its position clear to Taipei. (台灣和美國方面都說, 華盛頓已經把這個立場清楚的告訴臺北。)
U.S. officials are frustrated with what they call corruption and political infighting that surround Taiwan’s military acquisition process. They say it is eroding Taiwan’s military preparedness and morale, and becoming a distraction from the Chinese threat.
(美國官員對他們所謂的, 圍繞在台灣的軍事採購過程中的腐敗和政爭, 感到很失望。他們說這種種都正在腐蝕台灣的軍事預備和士氣，並且成為一種忽略中國威脅的分心。)
The senior U.S. source warned, “All of this is happening while more and more people [in the U.S. State Department and Department of Defense] are pushing for opening with the PRC [People’s Republic of China]. Taiwan politicians, focusing only on their own self interests, are playing right into the united front strategy of the PRC.
” (此一美國權威人士警告， “這一切都發生在有越來越多 [在美國國務院和國防部 ] 的人，正在施壓要對中華人民共和國開放的時候. 台灣政客卻只是用心在謀取他們自己的私利，正中中華人民共和國統一戰線的策略。”
Spokesmen for Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense declined to comment.
Playing Politics
U.S. officials are growing more frustrated by the Legislative Yuan, which has blocked or altered defense-procurement legislation in efforts to embarrass President Chen Shui-bian.
The chief example is the holdup, now four years and counting, of the “special budget” that would purchase submarines, P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile defense systems offered by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2001.
Taiwan has passed no large procurement budget requests since 2003, when it narrowly approved the purchase of four Kidd-class destroyers. The frustration is shared by the countrys military leaders.
“Since 2000, we were barely able to complete major military purchase budgets for the Kidd destroyers (2002), the Po-Sheng (C4ISR) Program (2003), and long-range surveillance radar (2004),” said the 2006 National Defense Report, released on Aug. 28.
The report said the country’s annual defense budget has ranged from $7.3 billion to $8.5 billion over the past six years, though it is declining in proportion to the total federal budget and gross domestic product.
Now the military is pushing for the procurement of F-16 fighters, P-3 Orions, and attack and utility helicopters, and defense sources are complaining that legislators are already lining up for their cut.
“U.S. government officials leave office to make money in the private sector, but in Taiwan, they enter politics to make money,” complained another defense contractor.
(“美國政府官員都是離開公職後, 才在民間企業賺錢，但是在台灣，他們卻是進入政界才撈錢，”另一位軍火商抱怨。)
Critics say corruption is fostered by the Taiwanese practice of requiring foreign defense contractors to use local agents. A local Taiwan defense source said he knew legislators who assigned an assistant - or even a team of them - to secure handouts from agents.
(批評的人說, 台灣要求外國軍火商聘用臺灣本地代理的作法, 滋生腐敗。某一台灣軍方人士說, 他知道哪些立法委員, 派助理 - 或者甚至於好幾個助理 – 去向臺灣代理要好處。)
A former official for the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. Embassy in Taipei, said that “private Taiwan agents working for U.S. companies on contract, who, on their own, pay members of the legislature or military procurement officials or anyone else,” are out of the direct control of U.S. defense contractors.
(某位前任AIT官員說 “私人身份的臺灣代理替美國公司爭取訂單, 自己私下再拿錢給立法委員或軍方採購人員等”, 並未直接受到美國軍火商的控制.)
“However, as everyone knows, this is common practice for European companies and their governments - i.e., France - to pay direct payments to anyone who can help get a contract through,” said the former official.
(但是, 大家都知道, 給錢這種事, 對歐洲公司和政府, 比如法國, 是很平常的. 他們會直接把錢給可以幫他們拿訂單的人.)
U.S. defense contractors are governed by the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the 1998 International Anti-Bribery Act, which severely punishes U.S. companies that pay bribes or offer other types of financial incentives. However, local Taiwanese contract agents work without such restraints.
(美國軍火商受制於“1977 年所通過的外國賄賂行為法案” (the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), 以及“1998 年所通過的國際反賄賂法案” (the 1998 International Anti-Bribery Act)，這兩個法案會重重處罰給紅包, 或者給其也財務賄貽的美國公司。不過，他們的台灣代理並不受這些限制。)
“The problem lies in the fact that many Taiwan agents do not work on a retainer, but instead get a percentage of the sale - sometimes as much as 5 percent. Imagine getting 5 percent for a billion-dollar sale. Where does that 5 percent go? Into whose pockets? There is no transparency,” said another U.S. defense source.
(“問題就出在大多數的臺灣代理並不是被美國軍火商以薪水聘用, 而是拿取訂單的百分比, 有時候拿百分之 5 之多. 想想看幾十億美金的百分之 5. 這百分之 5 哪裡去? 到誰的口袋? 一點都不透明.”另一位美國國防部人士說.
Agents also bribe military officials to craft operational requirements documents to favor their clients, said one source.
“The officers who are clean and want to focus on their work distance themselves from anything remotely connected to that - consequently ignorant of the situation and not seeking to improve it - while the dirty ones who take advantage of it usually can get away with it,” said a Taiwan military officer.
(“清廉的官員做自己的事, 不沾惹這些, 到最後什麼都不知道, 也無法使得上力去改善. 而垃圾的官員就上下其手, 吃乾抹淨.” 某一臺灣軍官說.)
Legislators and agents can further complicate military procurement by killing the program that wins the selection process. Sources say that agents and legislators believe killing a program will give them a second chance to win it in the next round. Unfortunately, it takes up to three years to start over, and the military suffers for lack of essential equipment.
“The Legislative Yuan is a huge part of the problem, and because the system is not transparent enough and the media can easily be spun without any verification, there’s little one can do to fix it,” said the Taiwan defense source.
(“立法院問題重重, 整個系統不夠透明, 媒體又很容易被牽著鼻子走, 也不查証.” 此一臺灣軍官說.)
Many would like to blame one political party, but the Taiwanese defense contractor said both the Chinese Nationalist Party and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are corrupt.
(很多人總是愛批評某一政黨, 但是這個臺灣軍火代理說中國國民黨和民主進步黨都很腐敗.)
“Six years ago, the Taiwanese gave the DPP, the current ruling party, a chance in power, and expect the corruption problem will be improved. In fact, it is getting much worse.”
(“6 年前, 臺灣人給民進黨, 現在的執政黨, 執政的機會, 希望腐敗的問題會被改善. 事實上, 現在卻比以前更加腐敗得多.”)
In 1993, one Taiwan Navy captain, Yin Ching-feng, paid with his life when he attempted to blow the whistle on a kickback scheme involving the procurement of six French La Fayette-class frigates for $2.8 billion.
To make matters worse, some agents are now being accused of selling sensitive information on Taiwan’s defense programs to Beijing.
(更慘的是, 現在有些臺灣代理被指控販賣臺灣的國防機密給北京.)
“One agent is working for three competing defense contractors and makes frequent trips to Beijing for unknown reasons,” said a source.
Another U.S. defense contractor said, “There are shadowy types from Shanghai now in Taiwan working in this area [defense procurement]. They are very quiet and they don’t want to be known.”
Sources say there are fears that an Israeli company has sold sensitive information to Beijing about Taiwan’s new early warning radar (EWR) program.
“An Israeli company is doing all of the software for the EWR program, and it has close business relations with China,” said a source.
There are fears that China could shut down Taiwan’s air defense network without firing a shot, local sources warned.
Solutions
The problem, sources argue, is that procurement selection is not based on program quality, but on the amount of money paid to officials. All agree that commissions and offsets should be tightly controlled or ended.
“Exposing this issue is the easy part, but the solution is far more complex; it will involve the legislature, press, defense industries, and officers willing to risk and sacrifice. Sad, but I don’t have a
solution,｡ｨ said the Taiwan military officer. |
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樓主: 墮落牧羊人
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發表於 06-9-11 11:19:46
