TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) on Wednesday pressed the Ministry of National Defense over its decision to award a NT$590 million (US$18.8 million) contract to import explosives to an interior decoration company.
The explosive is Royal Demolition eXplosive (RDX), developed before World War II. Home-Max Furniture Trading Ltd. won the defense ministry bid as the sole bidder, prompting opposition lawmakers to question the company’s qualifications, per Tai Sounds.
Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said Home-Max’s international trading license meets the requirements for participation. Responding to concerns about whether the company could deliver on the contract, Koo said the ministry will verify all relevant documents, including export permits and source-tracing information for the RDX.
Koo stressed that it is easy to determine whether a bidder can secure materials required by the military.
Wang noted that Home-Max recorded no imports between 2021 and 2024 and had imported less than NT$15 million worth of goods in 2025, questioning why the company was selected, per Liberty Times. Noting Koo’s reliance on the international trading licence, she also asked why there was only one bidder when Taiwan has more than 300,000 international trading firms, citing Koo’s reliance on the company’s trading license as justification.
Wang added that the contract includes extension provisions under limited tendering until Dec. 15, 2028, potentially adding NT$820 million in value. Taiwan People’s Party Chair Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) echoed her criticism, questioning the ministry’s reliance on an international trading license as sufficient justification, per ETtoday.
KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) pointed out that RDX is a controlled substance that likely requires a special import permit, per ETtoday. She questioned how a firm with no experience importing RDX won the contract and whether Home-Max holds the necessary permits to handle explosives.
Industry insiders echoed Hsu’s concerns, saying that importing highly dangerous materials often requires experienced importers or even government assistance, per UDN.
Lawyer Teng Hsiang-chuan (鄧湘泉) said that under the Government Procurement Act, authorities may impose special qualifications for contracts exceeding NT$100 billion because of their complexity, per China Times. He noted that the law states agencies can, not must, impose such requirements, leaving broad discretion to the government.
Given the contract’s size and loose eligibility criteria, Teng said public suspicion is understandable.
Because of the secrecy surrounding Taiwan’s arms production, the country’s RDX manufacturing capacity is not publicly known. However, procurement records for RDX manufacturing equipment on the Government e-Procurement System suggest the government has maintained domestic production capability.
Home-Max’s contract marks the first known instance in decades of the military outsourcing RDX procurement to a private company.
