The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday announced it would terminate a contract with a financial trust company handling its party assets, in a move that would allow the party to resume its grip on assets estimated at NT$33 billion.
Fearing that the KMT will take the opportunity to sell assets it improperly acquired during its 50-year reign, Cabinet officials yesterday unleashed a fresh round of rebukes, and threatened to revoke the operating licenses of China Television Company (CTV) and Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) on Friday, if the companies are found to have violated related laws.
KMT Spokesperson Alex Tsai (
"While we don't rule out any possibilities for disposing of our party assets, we thought it might be a good idea to adopt the Hua Hsia model to do so," he said.
Hua Hsia Investment Holding Co (
Through the party-run Hua Hsia, the KMT owns a 65 percent stake in CTV, a 96.95 percent stake in BCC and a 10 percent stake in Taiwan Television (TTV).
On Monday, Hua Hsia replaced two board members with people from Sycamore Ventures, part of US-based Citibank Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Citicorp.
The Broadcasting and Television Law (
The Government Information Office (GIO) has threatened to withhold the renewal of the operating licenses to CTV and BCC on Friday if the companies are found to have violated the laws.
About three years ago, the KMT's party assets were estimated at over NT$73 billion. The figure dwindled to nearly NT$30 billion due to the financial losses of Hua Hsia. Frustrated by its financial embarrassment, Hua-Hsia has been desperately trying to raise funds by borrowing money or selling its stakes in sub-companies.
Party authorities are hoping to get NT$8 billion (US$235 million) by selling the shares in CTV, BCC, the Central Motion Picture Corp, the Central Daily News and China Daily News in a single block offering before next year.
The party is required by the Broadcasting and Television Law to sell its stakes in media outlets by Dec. 26 because political parties and the government are no longer allowed to own, fund or assume key positions in media outlets.
Calling the KMT "a liar," Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) yesterday questioned the KMT's desperate efforts to get rid of party assets in exchange for money.
"Why they're trying to get rid of their party assets is unfathomable to me," Chen said. "What they should've done instead is to keep their promise and return the assets they promised to state coffers."
KMT officials pledged last year that it would relinquish nine of its properties to the original owners. Those properties are seven movie theaters, the Shih Chien building and the Shih Chien Hall.
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