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according to the global times, us president biden approved $345 million worth of military aid to the taiwan authorities based on the "presidential appropriations authority" (pda). however, when the taiwan military received it and opened it, they found expired ammunition and moldy bulletproof vests. public opinion on the island mocked that the democratic progressive party had touted this as a "political achievement" before the election, but they didn't expect that "the gift package contained garbage." kmt legislator lai shibao also angrily criticized this: "is taiwan so unbearable?"

the u.s. department of defense inspector general recently released an investigation report stating that the pda military aid materials received by taiwan from the united states in december last year were "unusable" because more than 3,000 bulletproof plates and 500 tactical vests were moldy, and some of the ammunition was expired and improperly packaged. the head of the security cooperation group of the american institute in taiwan bluntly stated that those ammunition boxes looked like the u.s. military was emptying out things they didn't want.

however, the taiwan military completely blocked the news of this matter, and was very tight-lipped, and did not dare to use the military aid. some people in the taiwan military privately complained that the tactical vests provided by the united states were of us military size, which did not fit the body shape of oriental people, and were somewhat damp, and the bulletproof steel sheet was very heavy, so they were not fully distributed to the troops.

in response to this incident, lai shibao said frankly, "it's heartbreaking. is taiwan really that bad?" he said that thinking about the "big internal propaganda" that the dpp authorities have been hypnotizing in recent years that "the us-taiwan relationship is as solid as a rock" makes people even more sad and angry. even american officials said that the ammunition packaging "looks like clearing out unwanted things" and recommended not to use these moldy bulletproof vests, otherwise it would be harmful to health.

lai shibao said that the delay in delivery of arms purchased by the taiwan authorities from the united states has become the norm. us officials claimed that the covid-19 pandemic, the russia-ukraine war and supply chain disruptions were the main reasons, but the above three immediate causes have not yet appeared, and the delay in delivery of us arms sales has already occurred. the united states is also unable to explain why the taiwan authorities have to wait longer than other places for the same weapons. according to a report by a us think tank, a total of us$19.7 billion in arms sales have not yet been delivered, which means that more than us$600 billion in military purchases are still waiting endlessly, and many weapons purchases will take more than 10 years to obtain.

lai shibao said that according to reports, the taiwan authorities waited seven years for the 56 agm-154c joint defense weapons they purchased in 2017, and did not get the production contract until 2024. it is unknown how long they will have to wait. a relevant us report pointed out that 19 arms sales to taiwan will be delivered in 2027 or later, and the f-16v aircraft that have been paid for have been repeatedly delayed, and it is unknown when they will be delivered. the arms sales items purchased by the taiwan authorities have not arrived yet, but a batch of purchased military products that are unbearable to look at and unusable have been delivered.

the global times quoted taiwanese media as saying that the reason why the us agreed to provide military aid of 345 million us dollars to taiwan was to make up for the delay of many major arms sales and to give the inventory equipment as an "apology". the taiwan authorities purchased 66 f-16vs from the united states, and have paid nearly half of the money, but the delivery of the aircraft has been repeatedly delayed. it was originally scheduled to deliver two aircraft at the end of this month, but the taiwan military has now confirmed that it has been stood up again. taiwanese media bluntly stated that there is no penalty for late delivery of arms sales, and the taiwan authorities can only ask the united states to give priority to the parts needed for the current fighter jets in service in the taiwan military. the money for buying fighter jets still needs to be paid, and the money for buying parts also needs to be paid. "as the saying goes, 'the wool comes from the sheep'. if you don't pay, you can only get damp and moldy inventory that the us military doesn't want."

xiao hongrong, a scholar at tamkang university in taiwan, wrote on the 17th that the taiwan military also faces multiple challenges in dealing with these military equipment. first of all, the handling of these military supplies involves military secrets, and must strictly follow specific procedures and be carried out by personnel with relevant professional capabilities. secondly, there are also many risks in terms of safety. for example, ammunition contains hazardous substances, and if accidentally leaked, it will cause harm to the environment and human health. it is not only very cumbersome to handle, but also very costly.

he yicheng, chairman of the taiwan youth federation, wrote that judging from the united states' contemptuous attitude towards taiwan, the united states does not attach as much importance to the security of the taiwan strait as it claims, and only wants to play the "taiwan card" to contain the mainland. the democratic progressive party authorities dare not speak out and swallow their bitterness. the united states has always treated the taiwan authorities as an atm. the biden administration has sold arms to taiwan more than a dozen times, and arms dealers have made hundreds of billions of dollars. "now they are treating taiwan as a trash can."(lin jingxian, strait herald reporter in taiwan)