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Cabinet to sue for return of stolen assets

The Cabinet said yesterday that it was preparing to take legal action against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over some of its stolen assets, including the China Youth Corps Youth Activity Centers, the Kuopin Building lot in Tainan owned by the KMT-affiliated Chunghwa Daily and five movie theaters from the Japanese era registered under the Central Motion Picture Corp (中影公司).

Cabinet Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻), Vice Minister of Finance Lee Ruey-tsang (李瑞倉), Cabinet Spokesperson Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) and three lawyers -- Lin Yung-sung (林永松), Greg Yo (尤伯祥) and Chen Yung-chih (陳雍之) -- discussed the motives for the lawsuits at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.

Chen said the youth centers were built on state-owned land with state money even though they are registered under the KMT, and that the Cabinet hopes to force the KMT to return five of the centers. One-third of the land where the Chientan Youth Activity Center is located belongs to the Ministry of Education.

Former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) once said that the five movie theaters in Taipei, Chiayi, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Ilan were to be returned, Chen said, but ever since KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took over as party chairman, the matter had remained at the negotiating stage, while the theater in Ilan has been sold.

Chen said the Cabinet would use a team of 15 lawyers to win the lawsuits. He called on the legislature to quickly move the draft party asset act from the Procedure Committee -- where it has languished for the last four legislative sessions -- to the legislative floor so it can be reviewed by the appropriate committee.

Chen said the lawsuits were the government's next step after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications sued for the return of land from the Broadcasting Corp of China (中國廣播公司).

The return of the KMT's stolen assets was part of transitional justice, Chen said, adding that if the assets have been sold, then the government would demand funds amounting to the current land price plus a 40 percent surcharge.

He said the government decided to act because the KMT had not showed any intent to return the assets, although it seemed to be in a hurry to sell them off.

Once the assets were returned to the nation's coffers, they could be used for such things as offering better school food or tuition subsidies for children from low-income households or in remote areas, he said.
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