Council slams lack of venues for show

The Cabinet expressed disappointment yesterday that several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-ruled counties could not provide a venue for an exhibition displaying government documents and pictures related to the party's stolen assets.

"I feel really disappointed," said Chen Chun-lin (陳俊麟), vice chairman of the Cabinet Research, Development and Evaluation Commission. "The main purpose of the exhibition is to raise awareness about the stolen assets, as they belong to the nation and the public."

"The central government and local governments should be working hand in hand on this, not against it," Chen said.

The exhibition will open at Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall today and will visit Taichung City, Chiayi County, Kaohsiung and Yunlin before the end of the year. However, Chen complained that Taoyuan County, Hsinchu County, Miaoli County, Taichung County and Chiayi City have refused to provide a location for the exhibition.

"They [the governments] told me that their public exhibition halls or theaters were all occupied so they could not help. The funny thing is, they are all governed by the KMT," Chen said.

Minister without Portfolio Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄) encouraged everyone to visit the exhibition, saying that it would clearly show how the KMT stole the assets from the public, adding: "I assure you that you will be shocked."

He said retrieving the stolen assets was just one part of the Cabinet's transitional justice policy.

"It is a difficult task and there is still a lot for us to do. But we will continue with our efforts," Hsu said.