All your hard work of working towards building your reputation is now down the Drain...en-mass resignation is a MUST!
http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20080516/frhome.htm
Gubon spills Taipei beans
MINISTER for National Planning Paul Tiensten had signed a draft communique to set up “full diplomatic relationship” with Taiwan in September, 2006, in Port Moresby.
The Post-Courier yesterday received a copy of a draft communique between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Government of Papua New Guinea relating to the establishment of full diplomatic relationship, signed by Mr Tiensten on September 20, 2006, when he was the acting Foreign Minister.
The signed communiqué stated:
* THE Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) will assist the Independent State of PNG in social and economic development, including in areas such as agriculture, tourism and culture, urban development and planning, education and training as well as the overall promotion of investment; and
* THE two parties will negotiate and finalise the projects within one month after the signing of this communique.
Mr Tiensten was then the Minister for Trade and Industry.
In another development, private lawyer Dr Florian Gubon claimed the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare had authorised the trip to Taiwan which was led by Mr Tiensten, including his first secretary and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Timothy Bonga and himself.
Dr Gubon also alleged former North Fly MP Roy Biyama was directed by the Prime Minister’s Department to cut short a private business trip to Israel and meet Mr Tiensten’s team in Singapore to travel to Taiwan.
Mr Tiensten, in an earlier interview with the Post-Courier, said Dr Gubon was a kind of a legal adviser to the Taiwanese middlemen, and that was when he met with Taiwanese man Wu Shih-tsai in Port Moresby.
Mr Tiensten had earlier said he upheld the “One China Policy” Sir Michael had signed formalising bilateral relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in October 1976.
Mr Tiensten could not be contacted for response yesterday.
On the $US200,000 allegation, Dr Gubon said: “The K533,000 ($US200,000) mentioned in the media was deposited into my private account by Johnson Cheng, an aide to the Taiwanese Foreign Minister James Huang to facilitate travel expenses for these government officials and not payments to Mr Bonga,” Dr Gubon said.
Dr Gubon said this money was deposited into his private account after the trip to Taiwan with Mr Bonga for technical and financial issues into Eda Ranu’s water bottling purposes.
Dr Gubon, however, said the K533,000 was not from the K82.6 million ($US30 million) that vanished in the secret diplomatic scandal between PNG officials, the two middlemen and the Taiwanese Foreign Affairs officials.
Dr Gubon, who has been put in the spotlight by both the foreign and Papua New Guinea media over the Taiwanese diplomacy scandal, said the money was purposely to pay for travel expenses for the government officials authorised by Sir Michael himself.
Asked if there was any leftover from the travel expenses, Dr Gubon said most of the money was given away but alleged that K50,000 went to one other public figure and about K15,000 went into another leader’s pocket.
Dr Gubon said from the $US200,000, he gave $50,000 to Wu Shih-Tsai (reported “middleman’’) and that he kept $150,000 towards the expenses for the delegates’ travel to Taiwan to complete the signing of the communiqué by Mr Huang.
“These government officials had direct contact and link with the middlemen and I am pretty sure there were opportunities open for them to take the money.
“I was abandoned afterwards and they had numerous meetings with the middlemen, especially Wu Shih-Tsai and the Taiwanese delegates,” Dr Gubon said.
Dr Gubon said he was used by the Government officials as a scapegoat as he was kept in the dark.
If there was any money, all he knew was he never benefited.
“I recall one time in December 2006 when Mr Wu, the middleman, rang me up and told me he saw Mr Tiensten down the street in Singapore, I said are you lying ... if he is there then why didn’t I know of his going which Mr Wu bluntly told me to stay out,” he said.
Dr Gubon said he was terminated as the chairman of the Telikom board and was travelling as a private lawyer, not as a member of a PNG Government delegation.
He said he could not hold a Bible and say that Mr Tiensten had lied.
Dr Gubon said he was first introduced to the middlemen by former Trade and Industrial Minister in the Morauta Government, John Tekwie.