Central News Agency

(Taipei, 13th – reporter Tseng Yun-ting) The Taiwan People's Party caucus today questioned whether Wei Ru Technology had received duplicate subsidies from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). In response, the MOEA clarified in the evening that the two projects differ in market positioning and application fields, and therefore do not constitute duplicate subsidies. Regarding partner companies involved in fraud allegations, the MOEA has informed Taiwan Lutu Company, the lead firm, that its collaborators may be linked to fraudulent activities. If criminal convictions are confirmed in related cases, the subsidized consortium may fail to execute the project as scheduled, and the MOEA will reclaim the subsidies.

In response to allegations by the Taiwan People's Party caucus that the MOEA’s Department of Commerce Development and the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration may have provided duplicate subsidies to Wei Ru Technology, the MOEA explained that the Department of Commerce’s SIIR project, 'Development and Promotion of Integrated Online-Offline Consumer Precision Services,' focuses on membership-based services, aiming to build a precision marketing platform to enhance user experience.

In contrast, the SME Administration’s project, 'Development of an Integrated Online-Offline Audiovisual Interactive Ecosystem Service,' centers on modular event interaction processes. It supports businesses in establishing rapidly replicable, monetizable business models and facilitates commercial validation.

The MOEA stated that after review by the evaluation committee, the two projects differ in market positioning and application domains. The Department of Commerce project primarily targets business-to-consumer (B2C) applications, while the SME Administration project focuses on business-to-business (B2B) models, thus there is no case of duplicate subsidies.

Regarding whether companies involved in fraud violate subsidy regulations, the MOEA noted that in February this year, the SME Administration approved the 'AI Smart Accommodation Multi-Channel Traffic Guidance and Intelligent Itinerary Generation Digital Transformation Service Chain Development Project,' led by Taiwan Lutu Information Co., Ltd., in alliance with Renkeduo Co., Ltd.

The MOEA emphasized that Renkeduo is not a direct subsidy recipient or contracting party with the MOEA, and no directors of Taiwan Lutu are involved in financial fraud.

However, the SME Administration has informed Taiwan Lutu that its partner may be under fraud investigation. If criminal convictions are confirmed, the subsidized consortium may be unable to execute the project as planned. In such cases, subsidies granted to both the lead and consortium companies will be reclaimed.

The MOEA reiterated that if any subsidized company is convicted of a crime, its subsidy eligibility will be revoked, the contract terminated, and disbursed funds must be returned, with no exceptions. (Edited by Pan Yi-Ching) 1150713