The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee yesterday said it froze a bank account of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over the issuance of 10 checks worth a collective NT$520 million (US$16.54 million) immediately after a law was promulgated prohibiting political parties from disposing of assets presumed to have been obtained illegally.
Following the implementation on Aug. 10 of the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例), the KMT on Aug. 11 withdrew NT$520 million from Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行) and asked Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行) to issue 10 checks worth NT$52 million each, reportedly to pay for party expenses and employees’ salaries, committee spokeswoman Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳) said.
One check was cashed on Aug. 30, and funds were transferred to about 200 accounts, which might constitute a violation of the act, because the money is presumed to have been gained through illegal means and cannot be disposed of, Shih said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“The committee has asked SinoPac to freeze the KMT’s account, making it deposit-only,” committee Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said.
“Bank of Taiwan has been asked to place the nine uncashed checks on hold, in case anyone attempts to cash them,” Koo said.
If the cashed check was used to pay party employees’ salaries, the committee would ask the KMT, not the recipients, to return the money, Koo said.
Money in the SinoPac account is presumed to be ill-gotten, as the committee estimates that the KMT’s legitimate assets are worth about NT$630 million and its ill-gotten assets are worth NT$1.932 billion, while a total of NT$2.385 billion has been withdrawn from the account, Koo said.
Shih said the committee is to relaunch a Web site with the results of an investigation into ill-gotten party assets.
The Web site, launched in 2002 by the administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), was used to publish data gathered by an investigation between 2002 and 2007, but it was shut down in 2008 when former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office.
“The committee decided to relaunch the Web site, because such data should be available to the public in a democratic nation such as Taiwan,” Shih said.
The committee is to hold a hearing to determine whether two holding companies — Central Investment Co (中央投資公司) and Hsinyutai Co (欣裕台股份有限公司) — are KMT affiliate organizations, if the two companies’ five shareholders are KMT trustees and whether their shares should be transferred to the state.
KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said the party is legally required to pay employees salaries and pensions, but the government is preventing it from meeting such a requirement.
“It is a shame that instead of doing what is necessary, the government has launched a political vendetta with no regard of the law,” Hung said, adding that all of the KMT’s assets are legitimate.
The KMT does not rule out the possibility of initiating protests, in addition to taking legal action, Hung said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist