The China Post
Date: September 19, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said delays to the purchase of two overseas offices were not due to ministry negligence, but to “various external factors.”

The clarification comes after the National Audit Office (審計部) criticized MOFA for delays in the purchase of properties for use as representative offices in Thailand and in Belgium.

According to the NAO report on the government’s 2015 budget, the Executive Yuan originally approved MOFA’s proposal to buy a NT$280 million property in Thailand in 2014.

However, a two-year delay in the purchase saw the eventual cost of the new Thailand office increase by NT$150 million.     [FULL  STORY]