Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday evening issued a strongly worded statement, calling the legislature’s passage of the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例) “unconstitutional.”
“The so-called ‘Democratic Progressive’ Party used ‘majority violence’ to pass a bad law that is illegal, unconstitutional, anti-democratic and against the rule of law, in an attempt to shape a political environment for ‘one-party dictatorship’ for its selfish ends. This is a sad event for Taiwan and for Taiwanese democracy,” Hung said in the statement.
Earlier yesterday, before the bill’s passage, Hung had said the bill would push the nation’s democracy backward and aggravate social divisions.
Photo: Lin Ching-lun, Taipei Times
Hung made the remarks yesterday morning in Yilan County, on the sidelines of the funeral of former Yilan County commissioner Lu Kuo-hua’s (呂國華) mother, which coincided with the legislature’s discussion of a bill to deal with the KMT’s ill-gotten assets.
“I have reiterated several times that the KMT’s opposition to the draft bill is not tantamount to an attempt to protect our party assets. We simply do not agree with the passage of something that is illegal and unconstitutional,” Hung said.
The bill would only retard Taiwan’s democratic growth, Hung said, accusing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of intensifying political divisions and causing social instability.
Criticizing the DPP as arbitrary, violent and impudent, Hung said that the KMT would like to see reconciliation between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, but it is puzzled by the ruling party’s actions.
“If the legislature uses ‘majority violence’ and passes the draft bill, the KMT will continue to survive and stride forward with a firm and steady step,” Hung said.
Separately yesterday, former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) — who is said to be interested in running for KMT chair next year — said the party should return all its assets that were not obtained in a justifiable manner, or they would forever be a “cash machine” for the DPP.
“This is not the sort of baggage the healthy and hard-working KMT should carry. Putting down the baggage in a fair and rational manner as soon as possible is the right thing to do,” Wu said.
Wu said while the KMT caucus stood little chance of preventing the DPP from passing the draft bill, the principles of justice and equality would be better upheld if the matter is addressed via filing for a constitutional interpretation instead of a political struggle.
However, the former vice president took issue with the use of the term “ill-gotten” in the bill’s title, saying that several Control Yuan members and the former DPP administration had conducted exhaustive probes into the KMT’s assets.
Additional reporting by Lin Liang-sheng.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS