VZCZCXYZ0013
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHIN #1359 3200811
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY ADD994BB MSI5815 - 641)
R 160811Z NOV 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2717
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001359
SENSITIVE
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - SENSITIVE CAPTION ADDED
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/TC, PM/DTCC AND ISN/MTR
PM/DTCC FOR BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR RACHAEL-THERESE S. JOUBERT-LIN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETTC KOMC TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN: RESULTS OF BLUE LANTERN BROKER CHECK NO. K-1385
REF: STATE 99591
1. (SBU) Summary: Per reftel request, AIT/T Econoff and FN visited
Vichem Company, Ltd. and interviewed Vichem President Mark Hsu,
husband of Vichem Chairwoman Tai Wen-min, and Mr. Rocky Pong, Senior
Manager. Ms. Tai was not available for the interview. End
summary.
2. (SBU) Vichem was established in 1990, and registered as a U.S.
broker in September 2006. The company has seven employees.
3. (SBU) According to the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), Ministry
of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Vichem is registered as a trading
company. The company's registration information, including the
company address and contact numbers, is identical to the reference
stated in paragraph three of reftel.
4. (SBU) Vichem serves as a representative for several companies
brokering products primarily for communications and electronics
systems. Mr. Hsu stated all of Vichem's customers are in Taiwan.
The company's major business comes from the Taiwan military,
including the Marine Corps, Army, and the Chung Shan Institute of
Science and Technology (CSIST).
5. (SBU) Besides being the sole agent of U.S.-based ITT
Corporation's Communication Systems Division, Vichem is also a
representative for Canada-based Ultra Electronics, Norway-based
COMROD, France-based ATDI, South Korea-based LIG NEX1 Co., Ltd., and
Taiwan's Optotech Co.
6. (SBU) After contracts are signed between the mother companies and
Taiwan's end users, Vichem is responsible for receiving, inspecting,
and delivering parts to the end users. Items of a small scale are
stored in Vichem's office space. The company does not have
warehouse or formal storage area for parts it receives, as its
facilities are limited in size. If a contract includes items of a
larger scale, Vichem stores them in a Taiwan Customs' warehouse for
a few days before delivering them to customers.
6. (SBU) All the contracts are processed in the
government-to-government Financial Management Service (FMS) channel.
Therefore, Vichem is not involved in contract paperwork.
7. (SBU) Both Mr. Hsu and Mr. Pong understand the basic limitations
dictated in the USML regulations, but depend primarily on the U.S.
company it represents to identify specific, relevant regulations for
each contract.
8. (SBU) Neither AIT nor its Taiwan law-enforcement sources has
derogatory information in its files concerning Vichem Company or Ms.
Tai Wen-min
Stanton