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Recovery of KMT stolen assets `the will of the people': Yu

From left, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chai Trong-rong, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh and DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun and load boxes of petitions onto a truck before delivering them to the Central Election Commission yesterday. The petitions call on the government to hold a referendum on the disposal of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) stolen party assets. PHOTO: CNA

Having reached its goal of collecting more than 1 million signatures for a referendum on divesting the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of its stolen assets, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday sent the signatures to the Executive Yuan, pledging it would succeed in forcing the KMT to return its assets to the country.

"This referendum was petitioned by the people, and showed the people's determination and will to recover the stolen assets," DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday in front of the DPP headquarters.

The DPP initiated the campaign for a referendum on the KMT's stolen assets in April, condemning the KMT for refusing to return its assets to the public and blocking legislation on the issue.

Before sending the total of 1.4 million signatures to the Central Election Committee (CEC) for confirmation, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said recovering the KMT's stolen assets had become a "common language" for all Taiwanese.

"The KMT promised to abandon all its assets, but it cannot do it because it finds it too hard to give up its own interests," Hsieh said.

"[Ultimately] it is the people who can pressure the party," he said.

The Referendum Law (公投法) stipulates that campaigners must collect 850,000 signatures calling for a referendum six months after the referendum proposal passes review.

Accepting the petition from Yu, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) vowed that the Executive Yuan would do its best to defend the country's assets.

Chang said he was "very moved" by the 1.4 million signatures because they represented the heartfelt wishes of the people of the country.

"The signatures on this petition mean that the people hope to see [the KMT] return its stolen assets to the public and to the country," Chang said.

Chang said the Executive Yuan's plan to retrieve the KMT's stolen assets is neither part of a political struggle nor, as the opposition has alleged, an abuse of power.

He said the Executive Yuan would also launch a campaign against the DPP if the country's assets ended up being stolen by the DPP.

To counter the DPP referendum campaign, the KMT initiated its own campaign for a referendum on fighting corruption and intends to submit a total of 1.1 million signatures to the CEC next Monday for confirmation.

KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) condemned the DPP yesterday for having turned into a corrupt government and pledged to restore the country's assets.

"The KMT will mobilize all party members to promote the anti-corruption referendum and put an end to corruption," Wu said.

KMT organization and management committee chief Huang Chong-hsian (黃重憲) said the party would send the signatures to the CEC on Monday morning and that the referendum should be in tandem with the legislative election on Jan. 12.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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