Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over its assets, saying the KMT administration had secretly sold its ill-gotten assets, pocketed substantial commissions from the transactions and used the profits to heavily subsidize the party’s election campaigns, spawning grave public grievance in the country.
Accompanied by lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and representatives from the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan, the Rotary Club and the Taiwan Junior Chamber, Su made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei, titled “Giving vent to fury” (火大找出路), which called on more than 1,000 civil groups to hit the streets along with the party in a planned mass demonstration in Taipei against President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
The rally, which is set to begin at 3pm on Jan. 13 at the intersection of Renai Road and Guangfu S Road, will be the last leg of the DPP’s one-month Fury (火大) campaign against what it says is the Ma administration’s poor governance.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“The KMT has not only liquidated its unjustly solicited assets in secrecy, but has also received huge commissions from the sales. While the party has yet to reduce its assets to zero [as promised by Ma in his capacity as KMT chairman,] it has been using the stolen assets to subsidize election campaigns,” Su said.
Su’s criticism of the KMT came after a recent court ruling involving Hsinyutai Co, a spin-off of the KMT’s investment company — Central Investment Holding Co — which sued the buyers of Central Motion Pictures Corp (CMPC) for NT$2.5 billion (US$85.9 million) for breach of contract.
According to the ruling, handed down on Nov. 30, the Central Investment Holding Co had stipulated in the sales contract of the CMPC with Lor Yu-chen (羅玉珍) and Chuang Wan-chun (莊婉均) that the latter helped the holding company auction off several of its assets with an estimated value of NT$9.8 billion and then paid it a sum of the profits after deducting taxes and transaction fees if they were sold higher than a certain price.
The pair were sued for failing to liquidate such properties within a stipulated period and thus incurring financial damage to the holding company.
Turning to the soaring prices caused by the Ma administration’s plan to increase fuel prices and electricity rates, Su said last year had been a year of suffering and worries under the Ma administration.
Su said public fear over the possible bankruptcy of the Labor Insurance Fund by 2024 had resulted in a spike in the number of insurers applying for lump-sum payments in October and November last year, totaling more than NT$80 billion.
However, the Ma administration still raised premium rates for the fund on Tuesday and let the second-generation National Health Insurance system take effect on the same day, Su said.
Echoing Su’s opinions, Medical Professional Alliance in Taichung secretary-general Gao Chia-chun (高嘉君) said the number of people seeking self-pay treatments was on the rise, mainly because they could no longer afford their health insurance premiums.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
RSS