Taiwanese Drone Deal Embroiled in Chinese Component Scandal; Contractor Detained

Taiwan's military drone procurement program has been rocked by allegations that a winning bidder, Hang Chien Technology, incorporated Chinese-made components, including chips and flight control boards. The head of the company, Chang Tung-lin, has been detained and barred from communicating with the outside world following a court ruling.

Kuomintang legislator Ma Wen-chun has strongly criticized the situation, questioning the government's commitment to a "non-Red supply chain" when Chinese parts appear in defense drones. She is calling for a comprehensive review of all current drone procurements, including prototypes and delivered goods, to identify any discrepancies in specifications, false origin declarations, or infiltration by Chinese supply chains.

Ma highlighted that the issue was only discovered during the acceptance inspection phase, despite contract stipulations for a "non-Red supply chain." She questioned the efficacy of the current verification process, suggesting it might rely too heavily on submitted documentation rather than actual component inspection.

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non-Red supply chain

This incident echoes past problems, such as the discovery of Chinese-made SD cards in Taiwan's Air Force's "Tengu II" drone project in 2025. Despite Defense Minister Wellington Koo's pledge for "entirely non-Red" production in future military drone manufacturing, the current case involving chips and flight control boards raises doubts about the implementation of these policies.

Ma emphasized that genuine defense autonomy requires scrutiny beyond just the external casing's origin. She urged the military to consistently apply stringent verification standards to all manufacturers, including those perceived as having closer ties, and to investigate potential issues with components being resold through third parties or relabeled. The legislator also pointed to a previous procurement for a drone countermeasure system where the delivered system differed significantly from the tested prototype, criticizing the military's delayed response.

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entirely non-Red