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.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster