DPP lawmakers yesterday accused the KMT of stealing more than US$100 million in US economic aid in the 1970s and channeling the money to its party-owned business empire.
As part of the DPP's continuing campaign to shed light on KMT assets which the opposition party alleges were obtained illegally, DPP lawmaker Cheng Pao-chin (鄭寶清), who leads a task force called the KMT Assets Reclaiming Agency, made public a finance ministry document from 1976 to support his accusation that the KMT had misappropriated aid money.
"The Bankers Trust International Limited based in the US loaned Taiwan's government US$100 million at a low interest rate -- 1.75 percent -- to be used in assisting state-run businesses," Cheng said.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"But the KMT took that money and invested it in party-run businesses, including the China Development Corp [now China Development Bank, CDB], the Broadcasting Cooperation of China [BCC], and China Airlines [CAL]," he said.
According to other documents that Cheng revealed yesterday, the KMT took US$86.1 million from the 1976 aid package -- which included the low-interest loan -- and invested it in CAL.
Some of the documents were signed off by former Minister of Finance Fei Hua (
Cheng appealed to the government to take back ownership of CAL and list it as a state-run business.
DPP lawmaker Yeh Yi-chin (
"We can see from those documents that China Development Corp had already taken about US$20 million as of Dec. 31, 1976. We want to ask whether the KMT has returned that money, and why the government has to borrow money to help the KMT's party-run businesses," Yeh said.
Meanwhile, 126 lawmakers, including 34 KMT legislators, 68 from the DPP, 10 from the New Party, and 13 independents, signed a petition demanding that the KMT make public its assets before the March presidential election.
DPP lawmaker Trong Chai (
"Especially those assets taken from the Japanese government after Japan ended its rule over Taiwan should be returned to the people," Chai said.
KMT lawmaker and party official Chen Hung-chi (
"We certainly plan to make public our assets. And we will accomplish it as soon as possible because we do underestimate people's expectations," Chen said.
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