f the general staff were at fault after a local newspaper reported they sold shredded classified documents to a recycling company. Taiwan's mass circulation Apple Daily said staff from the office of Gen. Hou Shou-yeh sold the documents to a recycling vendor instead of destroying them according to standard procedure.
The newspaper reproduced partially recovered documents that included references to the placement of Chinese military units and of unidentified aircraft carriers in the vicinity of the Philippines.
It said it reconstructed them from the contents of two bags of thread it acquired from a recycling vendor for 40 New Taiwan dollars (US$1.25; ��0.88).
Speaking to reporters, Defense Minister Lee Tien-yu said there had been "faults" with Defense Ministry handling of the documents.
"I am very angry," he said. "This is something that should not have happened."
Lee's statement came as another Taiwanese newspaper, Liberty Times, reported that classified bidding documents from the Defense Ministry's armaments bureau had been leaked to contractors on at least 20 occasions, and that three midlevel officers were under investigation.
Lee did not confirm the account but promised sanctions against any proven offenders.
"We will not tolerate the matter if it is true," he said.
