Public interest groups tend to shy away from actively participating in politics because of the fear that they might not be able to make themselves understood or that they might lose funding crucial for their existence.
Nonetheless, a recent turn of events concerning the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) handling of its assets deserves attention and should delight many nonprofit groups devoted to helping immigrants in Taiwan.
On Saturday last week, a debate was hosted by the Grassroots Alliance and other pro-reform KMT groups established by younger KMT members to discuss key issues about the party. The debate was attended by three of the party’s four chairperson candidates — Acting Chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin (李新) and Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖).
When asked how they would handle the party’s controversial assets, Lee said that the assets should all “be returned to zero,” and Chen said that the use of party assets to fund election campaigns should be banned, adding that they should be put into a charity fund for immigrants and Aborigines, while Huang said that the assets should be used to take care of the interests of retired party members and for other social welfare purposes, adding that they should no longer be used for election purposes.
For organizations like the Taipei Pearl S. Buck Foundation, which, for the past 50 years, has been advocating social welfare for immigrants, the news that KMT assets could be used to improve the living conditions of immigrants is welcome.
Of all political parties in the nation, the KMT’s candidates are the most frequently embroiled in vote-buying scandals and some speculate that the money used to buy votes comes directly from party assets.
No other political party can match the scale of the KMT’s assets, which raises the question: “How can any election be fair?” This is also why other political parties keep bringing up the party assets every election cycle.
Now that the KMT has lost its majority in the Legislative Yuan, it is almost certain that the new legislation would address the party’s assets. Instead of waiting for legislation to be passed, the KMT should take the initiative to resolve the matter by asking the Taiwan Bar Association and the Republic of China Certified Public Accountant Association to oversee the donation of the party’s assets to social welfare organizations, thus ensuring a fair and transparent process.
If necessary, the KMT could also donate its assets to the United Way charity organization and let it distribute the money.
The KMT’s assets are definitely not a good thing for the party. Giving it all away to charity would at least earn the party some credit and one way of doing that is what the party did following the Feb. 6 earthquake in Tainan, when it donated NT$1 million (US29,858) to help those affected.
Yu Ying-fu is the chairman of the Taipei Pearl S. Buck Foundation.
Translated by Yu-an Tu
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