Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) yesterday said that the role and the finances of the National Women’s League of the Republic of China are confusing, following criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.
“The league’s jobs, according to its mission statement, include entertaining troops to boost morale, which looks a bit confusing when it comes to defining its role,” Chen told reporters.
During a meeting of the Internal Administration Committee at the legislature in Taipei, Chen was questioned by DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) over whether the ministry — which is in charge of dealing with civic groups — is clear about the league’s finances.
Chen said that the ministry does not have such information.
“The league drew its funding from the public, therefore it should clearly explain how it spent the money, how much is left and where the difference went,” Chuang said.
“The Ministry of the Interior should be more aggressive over the issue,” Chuang said.
Chen said that as the league is a registered political group, rules do not require it to submit financial statements to the ministry.
However, he said that the group should publicize its financial statements.
“The ministry has asked it several times to provide its financial statements, but it has never done so,” Chen said.
Founded by Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) wife, Soong Mei-ling (宋美齡), in 1950, the league drew funds from import duties and movie ticket taxes.
The fundraising method was in place from 1955 to 1989, collecting more than NT$96.9 billion (US$2.92 billion).
In related news, while the league denied that it is a subsidiary of the KMT, DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that he found information on the group’s and the KMT’s official Web sites that showed otherwise.
On Facebook, Chen Chi-mai posted a photograph of the inaguration ceremony of league Changhua County chapter director Liao Yi-tien (廖宜田) on Jun. 23 last year, with both the Republic of China national flag and the KMT party flag in the backdrop on the stage.
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