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Semantics doom talks on KMT assets

"It is regrettable that no concrete conclusion of any sort was reached during the meeting."

Lin Chuan, minister of finance

Scheduled talks between the Min-istry of Finance and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over the party's disputed assets never got off the ground yesterday morning after the two sides spent two hours arguing over what to call the meeting and other logistical matters before ending the session.

The ministry, headed by Minister of Finance Lin Chuan (林全), demanded that the meeting be called a negotiation on the "return of the KMT's assets."

The KMT, represented by its team of lawyers headed by Y.R. Lee (李永然), insisted that the talks should not be labeled as being about the "return" (歸還) of assets to the original owners but about "donating and relinquishing" (回贈).

The ministry wanted the two sides to review basic principles concerning the disposition of the KMT's overall disputed assets before proceeding to details; the KMT stood firm on its position that the meeting should focus on the nine properties the party announced last month it would relinquish to the original owners.

Those properties are seven movie theaters, the Shih Chien building (實踐大樓) and the Shih Chien Hall (實踐堂).

"It is regrettable that no concrete conclusion of any sort was reached during the meeting," Lin said at a ministry press conference shortly after the meeting.

"It seems that the return of the seven theaters and the two buildings is unlikely -- as is meeting Premier Yu Shyi-kun's expectations," Lin said, referring to the Cabinet's hope of reclaiming the properties by the Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 22.

Lin Chua, head of the Cabinet's five-person task force formed to address issues regarding the inappropriate acquisition of the KMT's assets during the party's 50-year rule, expressed hope that both parties would meet again before the New Year holiday.

The KMT expressed its willingness to meet again but there was no consensus on the date of another meeting.

The KMT held its own press conference at its headquarters yesterday afternoon.

Expressing regrets that no conclusion was reached during the morning meeting, Lin Yung-jui (林永瑞), deputy directory of the party's Administration and Management Committee, said "the Ministry of the Finance ought to shoulder the responsibility for the fruitless result of the talks."

"Since both parties could not reach consensus over the principles mentioned by the Ministry of Finance, we don't understand why Lin Chuan can't sidestep those thorny issues and focus on the seven theaters and the two buildings which [the KMT] has announced its willingness to relinquish" Lin Yung-jui said.

Saying that 80 percent of the party's 165 properties have been returned to their original owners, Lin Yung-jui said that yesterday's fruitless negotiating session would not alter the KMT's attitude toward the disposition of the remaining 20 percent.

KMT spokesman Alex Tsai (蔡正元) questioned the ministry's sincerity in dealing with the asset issues.

"The Ministry of Finance does not appear to attach importance to the substantial issues we had proposed," Tsai said.

"It seems reasonable for us to speculate that the Ministry of Finance wishes to drag out the issue, to make it into a propaganda tool in the run-up to the [presidential] election," Tsai said.

Noting that the disposition of the party assets involves complicated legal procedures, Tsai called on the ministry to entrust the negotiations to the hands of legal professionals, not government ministers and other officials.
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