LM Report 2003

Taiwan

Key developments since May 2002: Taiwan has transferred 42,175 antipersonnel mines to Germany for destruction. Taiwan contributed US$294,768 for mine clearance in Honduras. Legislation regarding the use, production, transfer, stockpiling and destruction of antipersonnel mines has been drafted.

Mine Ban Policy

Due to its international status, Taiwan cannot accede to the Mine Ban Treaty. Since 1999, government officials on many occasions have expressed Taiwan’s support for a comprehensive ban on antipersonnel mines. On 24 May 2002, the Eden Social Welfare Foundation organized a press conference to announce the completion of a draft bill to prohibit the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of antipersonnel landmines. A number of legislators were present to express their support for the bill.^[1] As of mid-February 2003, the draft bill was waiting to be considered by the National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan (Parliament).^[2]

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling

Taiwan no longer produces, imports, or uses antipersonnel mines. In recent years, a total of 2,527 M6A2 and M7A1 stockpiled antipersonnel mines and 408 mines of other types have been destroyed.^[3] In 2002, Taiwan transferred 42,175 antipersonnel mines to Germany for destruction, including: 17,986 M2; 12,145 M3; 58 M12/M12A1; and 11,986 M14 mines.^[4] Taiwan will still not provide details on the size or composition of its remaining stockpile of antipersonnel mines.^[5]

Landmine Problem and Mine Action

In 2002, the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Ministry of Transport and Communications commissioned the British company BATEC International Ltd., to clear a minefield on the southern side of the Shang-Yi airport on Kinmen Island. The project budget was New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) 96,500,000 (US$2,774,583). In 2002, a total of 5,165 antipersonnel mines of different types were removed from an area of 66,362 square meters by thirty technicians.^[6] Mines cleared included: 240 M2A4; 3,555 M335; 212 M6A2; and 1,158 M7A1 mines.^[7]

According to a document received in January 2003 from Colonel Chien-Kuo Huang of the Military Combat and Planning Staff Office of the Ministry of National Defense, there are no minefields left in the inland areas of Kinmen Island. Some minefields remain along the coast of the island, but these have been clearly marked off. Decisions regarding which minefields to clear depend on the needs of local development projects, as well as the cross-strait situation between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China.^[8]

On 28 January 2003, the Taiwan Ambassador in Honduras, Tien-De You, presented $294,768 to the Honduras Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guillermo Augusto Perez-Cadalso, and the Organization of American States (OAS) to be used for the final phase of mine clearance projects on the southeast border with Nicaragua, in the provinces of Choluteca and El Paraiso. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also agreed to give $80,000 to the OAS to fund mine clearance projects in Guatemala.^[9]

Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance

Landmine Monitor has no information on any new landmine casualties in 2002. Since March 2001, the Ministry of National Defense Committee for Compensation to Civilians for Damage Caused by the Military has awarded compensation to fourteen landmine survivors injured between 1950 and 1973 in either Kinmen or Lian Jiang County.^[10] At least nine of the survivors were civilians, and the status of the other five is not known.^[11] Compensation payments ranged from NTD50,000 ($1,438) to NTD1,000,000 ($28,752) depending on the degree of disability.^[12] As of February 2003, 53 landmine casualties have received compensation from the government. A further 57 applications for compensation from landmine survivors or the families of those killed are pending with the Committee for Compensation.^[13]

In 2002, the Eden Social Welfare Foundation donated 470 wheelchairs to mine survivors and people with disabilities through local organizations in Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The total value of wheelchairs donated was NTD1,645,000 ($47,297).^[14] All the wheelchairs are produced at the Eden Sheltered Wheelchair Factory in Nan-Tou, where 90 percent of the 25 employees on the assembly line are people with a disability.

On 25 May 2002, the Eden Social Welfare Foundation organized a charity dinner to raise funds for the manufacture of wheelchairs for landmine survivors and other awareness raising activities. Guests included political representatives, celebrities, and spokespersons from various enterprises and associations.^[15] The total amount of funds raised for the “Love Without Borders” project in 2002 amounted to NTD7,022,907 ($201,924).^[16]

The Eden Social Welfare Foundation also organized a “Hundred Wheelchair Costume Parade,” in which Vice President Hsiu-lien Lu gave a speech during the opening ceremony encouraging citizens to support the “Love Without Borders” campaign. The purpose of the parade was to draw media and public attention to the landmine campaign and the importance of a barrier-free environment for mine survivors and other people with disabilities.^[17]

[1] Eden Social Welfare Foundation, “2002 Love Without Borders Report,” p. 79. Legislators present included including Apollo (Shei-Saint) Chen, Chung–Lien Ku and Bi-khim Hsiao.
[2] Telephone interview with Connie Lee, Political Affairs Aide, Legislator Apollo Chen, 14 February 2003.
[3] Letter from Col. Chien-Kuo Huang, Ministry of National Defense, 14 January 2003.
[4] Germany Article 7 Report, Form D, 10 April 2003.
[5] Telephone interview with Col. Chien-Kuo Huang, Ministry of National Defense, 25 February 2003. He said that due to certain circumstances, it was inconvenient to reveal information regarding existing landmine stockpiles.
[6] Letter from Ministry of National Defense, 14 January 2003. US$1=34.78NTD (exchange rate on 19 February 2003).
[7] Telephone interview with Col. Chien-Kuo Huang, Ministry of National Defense, 20 February 2003.
[8] Letter from Ministry of National Defense, 14 January 2003.
[9] Letter from Department of Central and South American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 17 March 2003.
[10] Letter from Col. Yung-Ho Hwa, Ministry of National Defense, 7 February 2003.
[11] Letter from Yun-Lung Mao, Chairman, Kinmen Association for the Promotion of Disabled Persons’ Welfare, January 2003.
[12] Letter from Col. Yung-Ho Hwa, Ministry of National Defense, 7 February 2003.
[13] Letter from Col. Yung-Ho Hwa, Ministry of National Defense, 19 February 2003.
[14] Eden Social Welfare Foundation, “Love Without Borders Foreign Wheelchair Donation Chart,” 21 January 2003.
[15] Eden Social Welfare Foundation, “2002 Love Without Borders Report,” p. 133.
[16] Department of Resource Collection, Eden Social Welfare Foundation, 19 February 2003.
[17] Eden Social Welfare Foundation, “2002 Love Without Borders Report,” p. 103.