The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the draft bills of the political party law (政黨法), which would ban political parties from operating or investing in a profit-making enterprise; and the statute regarding the disposition of assets improperly obtained by political parties (政黨不當取得財產處理條例), which would empower the government to investigate and confiscate assets that have been unlawfully obtained by political parties.
The drafts, which are listed as two of the priority bills that the Cabinet hopes to pass during the upcoming legislative session, will proceed to the Legislative Yuan for further review and final approval.
Calling the two bills "inseparable," Premier Yu Shyi-kun told the weekly closed-door Cabinet affairs meeting that it is important to enact the two new laws.
"With the legislation of the two laws, we'd like to resolve the problems that have emerged over the course of years and to create a fair, competitive environment that makes sense for all political parties," Cabinet Spokesman Chuang Suo-hang (
Chuang added that the party asset law is enacted not to target a particular party, but to make all political parties responsible to the people and themselves.
"As the bill would apply to those political parties established before July 15, 1987, there'd be 10 parties required to dispose of their party assets, including the ruling DPP," Chuang said.
Since the law would apply to political parties instead of party members, individuals held responsible for improperly handling party assets would be dealt with by other existing law, Chuang said.
Under the draft of the party asset law, political parties would be banned from operating or investing in profit-making enterprises, including television and radio stations.
However, in order to spread their views, parties would be allowed to operate or invest in newspapers, magazines, books or publications, including online media.
Parties that already operate or have invested in a profit-making enterprise would be required to sell the property or put it into trust within two years of the law taking effect.
A party that violates the ban on investing and operating a profit-making enterprise would face a fine of between NT$5 million and NT$25 million.
Party assets given away free of charge or sold with outrageous price differences after April 6 last year would be considered improperly disposed of.
A special committee would be set up under the law to investigate and handle the assets, then would demand the party return improperly gained assets to the nation if the party fails to prove the legality of the assets.
The draft of the political party law would limit the financial sources of a party to membership fees, campaign donations, campaign subsidies or bank interest.
Parties would also be required to keep copies of receipts for at least five years and account books for at least 10 years. Their annual financial report would have to be ratified by a certified accountant and made public either through a government bulletin, newspaper or online.
A political party would be prohibited from possessing any real estate except for that used for office buildings.
Parties which already own real estate other than office buildings would be required to sell the property.
In addition, parties would be banned from establishing local chapters on campuses, in the military, in judicial institutions and in government organizations.
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