Taiwanese foreign ministry sues MP for revealing details of secret agreement on aid to Ukraine

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan (MOFA) is preparing legal action against a Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker, Hsu Chiao-hsin, for divulging secret details of a memorandum of understanding that Taiwan signed with the Czech Republic last December to provide assistance to Ukraine.

The ministry's spokesman, Jeff Liu, said this at a press conference, Ukrinform reports, citing the Taiwanese news agency CNA.

In December 2023, the Taiwanese government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Czech Health Technology Institute (CHTI), according to which it pledged to donate funds for the purchase by the latter of medical supplies for Ukraine.

According to Liu, Taiwanese authorities did not disclose the details of the memorandum have because of the risk of encountering obstruction or sabotage from third countries.

At the same time, after the deputies familiarized themselves with the content of the legislative document, the opposition pro-China Kuomintang party invited Foreign Minister Joseph Wu to answer questions about the funds that are to be transferred to help Ukraine.

After these hearings, Hsu revealed details of the memorandum in a Facebook post, after what she said was a failure by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu to substantively respond to her concerns during a legislative hearing.

According to Hsu, these details are contained in a separate confidential part of the memorandum, which states that Taiwan has agreed to provide, through a Czech NGO, a donation of $10 million to restore Ukraine's medical capabilities, on the condition that up to 40% of the funds will be used to purchase medical supplies from Taiwan

Hsu questioned whether such donations, which pass through the hands of a third party, can be effectively monitored by MOFA, as well as whether nearly $4 million in medical supply purchases would be steered toward certain companies based on political favoritism.

Responding to the claims on Monday, Liu said that because Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic ties with Ukraine, it has partnered with neighboring countries, as well as with Ukrainian local governments and NGOs, to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since its full-scale invasion by Russia in February 2022.

Such arrangements with central and eastern European countries, which have longstanding ties with Ukraine, are in fact a more secure way of making donations to Kyiv, he said.

In addition to helping Ukraine, these partnerships also strengthen Taiwan's ties with friendly countries in the region, creating a win-win-win situation, Liu said.

The diplomat noted that with regard to this specific agreement, CHTI is not a private company, but an NGO that has cooperated with multiple ministries in the Czech government, he added.

He also emphasized that the full text of the MOU was, nevertheless, available to lawmakers for review, making it "total nonsense" to call it a "secret agreement," he said.

While MOFA is willing to provide lawmakers with private briefings on the MOU, they "cannot simply make confidential documents available to the media," Liu said, adding that MOFA is preparing to pursue legal action over the issue.

According to the news outlet, the ministry plans to file a legal complaint with prosecutors against Hsu, likely on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Photo: 圖 / 記者陳怡潔攝影