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Group demands number of legislative seats be cut

Civic groups are to stage a march in Taipei tomorrow to drum up support for halving the legislature and a law that would allow the government to confiscate assets illegally acquired by political parties.

The march, sponsored by the Alliance for Halving the Legislature and the Alliance for Monitoring Party Asset Reform, will start from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Plaza tomorrow afternoon and end in the legislature on Chung Shan S. Road. The Central Taiwan Society will hold a simultaneous demonstration in front of a temple in Taichung.

March organizer Tsai Dwan-ming (魏墩銘) said he is optimistic the two causes will soon materialize, as an overwhelming majority of the people support the reforms.

"It is no longer a pipedream to cut the number of seats in the legislature by half, as polls show over 70 percent of the people endorse the crusade," Tsai said.

He called on those that shared his ideals to take part in the march to keep the pressure on lawmakers.

The Taiwan Solidarity Union and the DPP have both made it their top campaign plank to slim down the 225-seat legislature.

In addition, Tsai suspected that many KMT assets were improperly obtained, noting that the party tended to mix its treasury with that of the government during its long grip on power.

"We suggest passing a special law authorizing the government to redress the matter so it may reclaim what belongs to the public and level out the playing field for all parties," Tsai said.

On Monday, the Cabinet is to weigh the request put forth by the Control Yuan to launch an investigation into the legality of KMT assets and to take special measures to address the issue if necessary.

The KMT is considered to be the world's wealthiest political party, with assets estimated at between US$6.7 billion and US$16 billion.

KMT Secretary-general Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) portrayed the upcoming Cabinet action as political persecution.

"The proposed investigation is obviously a plot on the part of the DPP administration to purge a rival party in the run-up to the elections," Lin said.
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