New move to put KMT assets in trust

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 (改造委員會) -- including outgoing deputy finance minister Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章), China Development Bank general manager Benny Hu (胡定吾) and lawmaker Eric Chu (朱立倫) -- submitted a proposal called "Adjusting Party Assets and Party-owned Enterprises."

The paper is to be confirmed by the KMT Central Standing Committee (中常會) and could become a reform guideline for the KMT.

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 (連戰) announced it to the public."

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 (陳師孟) said that the KMT should carefully check its current property before placing it into trust, because many of the party's assets are alleged to have been obtained improperly or illegally.

"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.