Two experts yesterday said at a public hearing that the Republic of China Public Service Association (ROCPSA) is “without a doubt” a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) affiliate.
Speaking at the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee’s offices in Taipei, National Cheng Kung University political science professor Leung Man-to (梁文韜) said the association encapsulated the KMT’s totalitarianism during the Martial Law era, as it was tasked with monitoring people and controlling society.
“Some might question how the association could be considered a KMT affiliate since it is not called the KMT Public Service Association, but the omission was deliberate so that their intricate relationship could be glossed over,” said Leung, a Taiwanese born in Hong Kong who moved to Taiwan 17 years ago.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
If the association was not affiliated with the KMT, it would not have needed to subject itself to the party’s supervision and the KMT would not have transferred its assets to the association and vice versa, Leung said.
“The KMT undoubtedly enjoyed full control of the association,” Leung added.
According to the committee’s investigative report, the association was established in 1962 and was run by then-KMT Central Committee Third Division director Ma Shu-li (馬樹禮).
The association was later integrated with the more than 300 local public service offices that had been founded nationwide since 1951, as per an earlier KMT reform resolution that was aimed at “facilitating public services, promoting party policies and consolidating the party’s leadership among the people.”
Citing documents from the KMT and publications with close links to the party, the committee said the association and its local branches were often housed under the same roof as the KMT’s local chapters, and were tasked with carrying out election campaigns and investigations into local factions and important figures for the KMT.
Their funding came from both the KMT and the now-abolished Taiwan Provincial Government.
They were also allowed to occupy public land or properties without paying any rent in most cases, the committee said.
To this day, the committee found that 125 of the KMT’s 135 local chapters are listed at the same address as the association’s local branches, while 252 of the 383 association branches — including the association itself — are registered at buildings owned by the KMT, party-owned Central Investment Co (中央投資) or its subsidiaries.
In addition, the association’s chair has mostly been taken up by KMT secretaries-general, the committee said.
National Chengchi University professor Lee Yeau-tarn (李酉潭) said that as a KMT member himself, he could say with confidence that the association has undoubtedly been controlled by the party.
“It is an understatement to call the association and its local branches KMT affiliates. They are practically the party’s local chapters,” Lee said.
Refuting the committee’s report, KMT Party Disciplinary Committee director Wei Ping-cheng (魏平政), who represented the party at the hearing, said the KMT merely provided “counseling and guidance” to the association and that there was nothing wrong with the party sharing its resources with an organization that shared its ideals.
“It is ridiculous to label the association as a KMT affiliate simply because some branches are listed under the same address as the party’s local offices. Many bar associations work at district courts or prosecutors’ offices, does that mean they are also affiliated?” Wei said.
Wei also questioned the legality of the public hearing, citing the absence of a representative from the association and its 382 local branches.
In response, committee spokeswoman Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳) said the association has yet to elect a new chair after the four-year term of its previous chairman, former KMT secretary-general Liao Liou-yi (廖了以), expired in October 2015.
An association board member, surnamed Tsai (蔡), planned to represent the association at the public hearing, but did not show up, Shih said, adding that the local branches were not invited, because their huge numbers would have made the hearing impossible.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source