President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should make a pledge to show her incoming administration’s determination to address the issue of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) ill-gotten party assets, academics said yesterday.
Critics have labeled the KMT’s assets “ill-gotten” because the party took them from the Japanese colonial government, private businesses and individuals when it took control of Taiwan in the late 1940s.
Despite several bills proposed at the legislature on “ill-gotten party assets,” academics said they are worried about the actual result of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) campaign to pursue the matter, as the issue is politically sensitive and highly polarized.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Lo Cheng-tsung (羅承宗) of the Zero Party Asset Alliance said the incoming Tsai administration does not have to wait until the legislation is passed to pursue the KMT’s illegitimate party assets.
He said that although the DPP was a minority in the legislature when former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was in power, and there was no legislation on the issue, the Ministry of Civil Service was already checking on the KMT’s assets.
Therefore, the first thing Tsai should do when she is sworn in is to have the government continue such work based on what has already been accomplished, while updating information on the Executive Yuan’s Web site.
Huang Shih-hsin (黃世鑫), an honorary professor at National Taipei University’s Department of Public Finance, said that Tsai should clearly declare her determination in pursuing the KMT’s assets and make legislation on KMT assets a priority in the legislature. Moreover, if a commission on ill-gotten assets is created, it should immediately ask the KMT to submit relevant documents, or the party headquarters should be searched, adding that there should also be clauses to provide awards to whistle-blowers from within the party, he said.
Hsu Hui-feng (許惠峰), a law professor at Chinese Cultural University, said that as the DPP holds an absolute majority at the legislature, it should integrate different versions of proposals to take care of the issue as quickly as possible and exempt those who were involved in handling ill-gotten party assets from criminal responsibilities so that they cooperate.
Lo said organizations affiliated with the KMT, such as the China Youth Corps and the National Women’s League of the Republic of China, should be pursued as “organizations whose personnel, finance or operations are currently or have been under the control of a political party” as stipulated in the New Power Party’s proposal.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS