Before the March 18 election, the KMT was believed to be one of the wealthiest ruling parties in the world. Since then, the party has begun preparations to become the opposition, but its wealth status remains unchanged.
Its estimated capital of NT$73 billion did little to ensure its ability to hold onto the reins of government, as the results of the March 18 election proved. It is something that critics say KMT officials should have better understood.
After the humbling defeat in the presidential election, the party appears to be taking the path of reform in an effort to gain peoples' trust in them. One of the most crucial issues, inevitably, has been about how to deal with the party's assets.
At an inside meeting held on Saturday to discuss party assets, members of the KMT's Reform Committee (
The paper is to be confirmed by the KMT Central Standing Committee (
The proposal states the KMT's assets originated from six sources -- savings, negotiable securities, real estate, government bonds, development funds for party affairs, and investments in party-owned business.
Among these sources, party-owned business benefits make up for the lion's share of the KMT's annual income.
Party-owned businesses have long been the target of attacks by opposition parties and academics. They were believed to work as a tool for the KMT to gain inappropriate advantages by means of its authoritarian regime.
"To avoid the issue remaining a cause for gossip, the KMT must first cease operating its businesses and take further steps to place KMT assets into trust," Hu said.
At the same time, Yen admitted frankly that the party should not put too much store in continued profits after the assets are put into trust. He said the plan could weaken the party's earnings, but at the same time it could prevent further siphoning by officials. Putting party property in trust is a promise the KMT ought to keep, he said, as it was widely seen as a symbol of reform after Lien Chan (
Furthermore, the KMT should strive to enhance its image by putting some of the party's profits into resources to be used for public welfare purposes. Although this received applause from party members and opposition officials, others criticized it, saying that related measures to resolve the problem of KMT assets miss the point because the emphasis should be on clarifying the description of the assets and thoroughly checking the sources of party property.
According to the proposal, the KMT will authorize lawyers and accountants to make up a special committee to check its property over three months.
Economist and Central Bank deputy chairman-designate Chen Shih-meng (
"The KMT must therefore hand over those which cannot be proven to belong to the KMT, and to use them to establish a fund for promoting Taiwan's democracy as compensation for the party's hindering role in the past," Chen added.
Wealth Magazine editor-in-chief (
Liang used the new KMT headquarters and the landed estate of KMT-owned Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) as examples that will prove the party's sincerity toward reform. The KMT reportedly illegally repossessed both pieces of land from the Japanese government after retrocession in 1945.
Liang said that the KMT must take responsibility for legitimizing its assets -- otherwise, it will have to hand back the assets to the government. And if the KMT cannot do that, then all it has said about reform is meaningless.
"The KMT has gained huge advantages with its enormous party assets, but it still lost ruling power. Should the KMT not come to its senses that money doesn't bring power, then perhaps it will maintain [its position as an opposition party] for a longer time than expected," Liang said.
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