EXBS: TAIWAN MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - DECEMBER 2009

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000063 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/ECC - JFRIEDMAN, ACHURCH, NJOHANSON, AND ROWEN STATE FOR EAP/TC - NTALBOT, DPARKER, TMANN STATE FOR ISN/MTR - PDURHAM, SBOYER, JMAYES, AND RPALMIERO DHS/CBP/INA FOR NRIVERA DOE/NNSA/INECP FOR TPERRY AND SJONES E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP PGOV ETRD TW IR SUBJECT: EXBS: TAIWAN MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - DECEMBER 2009 ¶I. BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS: STRONGER PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS ¶1. (U) On December 15, the Legislative Yuan passed legislation to increase the criminal penalty for export control violations to not more than 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of not more than NTD 1,500,000 (approximately USD 46,583). Previously, the penalty was not more than 2 years of imprisonment and a fine of not more than NTD 300,000 (approx. USD 9,317). RECENT IRANIAN TRADE DELEGATION VISIT TO TAIPEI ¶2. (SBU) On December 22, the Advisor met with Mr. Fan Che-ning, Manager of the Asia and Pacific Section of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA),to discuss TAITRA's recent trade promotion activity with Middle Eastern countries, including Iran. According to Fan, on December 11, 2009, TAITRA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Tehran Chamber of Commerce for Industry and Mining to facilitate trade promotion between Iran and Taiwan. On that day, TAITRA inaugurated two trade associations: the Republic of China - Middle East Economic and Trade Association, and the Taiwan-Iran Economic and Trade Association. With regard to the MOU, Fan said TAITRA has signed over 100 such MOU's with business organizations around the world. Fan stated that the signing of the MOU was quite routine, and described the fact that the MOU signing coincided with the Middle East Trade Week as a mere coincidence. [Note: The "Trade Week" was actually a two-day event on December 10 and 11.] He said TAITRA did not think there would be any political message implied by the signing or the timing of the MOU. In fact, he added, TAITRA hosted a trade mission with Israel in late November. The Middle East Trade Week was attended by 43 business representatives from Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria. (SBU) While the Middle East Trade Week was TAITRA's first trade event to host a delegation from Iran, sales personnel from Iranian companies have visited Taiwan companies in the past. Since these are private company visits, TAITRA is not involved in arranging them. (SBU) Taiwan companies are keenly interested in exploring business opportunities in the Middle East. According to Fan, Taiwan companies are primarily interested in trade opportunities for Taiwan's chemical, information technology, and industrial machinery (not machine tool) industries. (SBU) When asked to clarify how TAITRA ensures that Taiwan companies do not contribute to Iran's proliferation goals, Fan said Taiwan companies are fully aware of export control rules, and that TAITRA holds twice-yearly export control seminars for industry. II. TRAINING CONDUCTED DURING REPORTING PERIOD: None III. UPCOMING TRAINING: ¶1. (U) A Commodity Identification Instructor Training, implemented by the Department of Energy, is scheduled for March 4 - 7, 2010 ¶2. (U) A WMD Investigation and Prosecution Training, implemented by the Department of Justice, is scheduled for March 10 - 12, 2010. ¶3. (U) An International Air Cargo Interdiction Training (IACIT), implemented by Customs and Border Protection, is notionally scheduled for late March 2010 at JFK Airport, New York. A follow-on IACIT will take place in Taiwan a short time after the JFK program. IV. UPCOMING MEETINGS: None. ¶V. RED FLAG ISSUES: None. POC for this report is Mi-Yong Kim, EXBS Advisor. Telephone +886 2 2162 2347. STANTON