The National Women’s League affirmed its organizational and financial independence from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at a hearing yesterday.
The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee held the hearing to determine whether the league was controlled by the KMT and whether its funds — largely derived from so-called military taxes and surcharges — were ill-gotten.
According to the committee’s investigation, the league collected an estimated NT$24.03 billion (US$796.86 million at the current exchange rate) in military taxes and surcharges from 1955 to 1989, a sum estimated to be worth NT$349.81 billion — factoring in inflation and interest — in today’s terms.
The military taxes and surcharges were various types of taxes, import duties, textile duties, cinema surcharges and electricity bills, revenue the league received revenue from because of its ties with the KMT, according to the investigation.
The investigation said there was a close tie between the league and the KMT, as the party was behind the foundation of the league and members of the KMT were in control of its operations.
Rejecting the alleged affiliation between it and the KMT, league attorneys said it was founded based on the ideals of Soong Mayling (宋美齡), wife of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), and functioned independently of the party.
The 14 founding members of the league were not KMT members, and while there were KMT members involved in the league’s operations, that could not prove the alleged affiliation, lawyer Shen Cheng-hsiung (沈政雄) said.
Lawyer Hsu Lu-ping (徐履冰) questioned the validity of the investigation, saying the league collected NT$8.36 billion in military taxes between 1955 and 1989 according to an estimate by the Ministry of the Interior.
According to the league’s own estimate, it had spent about NT$65 billion in organizing entertainment events and building housing for military personnel and their dependents, Hsu said.
The league was entitled to receive military taxes and surcharges under government approval, so the funds it received should be considered a government subsidy, he said.
In addition, an import duty — part of the military taxes levied on foreign-exchange transactions denominated in US dollars between 1981 and 1988 — was not a compulsory tax, but a “voluntary donation” and was therefore not ill-gotten, the league added.
“The league’s funds were legitimately acquired. It would violate the rule of law if the league’s assets were considered ill-gotten and confiscated by the committee,” Shen said.
KMT Administration Committee director Chiu Da-chan (邱大展) said there were only five financial transfers between the party and the league between 1950 and this year, totaling NT$18.44 million, and that the transfers were government subsidies.
“The party’s help in letting the league receive government payments does not prove it controlled the league’s finances,” Chiu said.
He said the committee had falsely cited a document issued by Chiang in 1948, which asked his staff to “study the possibility of” including the league’s funding in the government’s budget — which he said should be understood as Chiang’s euphemistic refusal to do so.
However, the phrase “study the possibility of” was left out of the committee’s report, which made the document appear to be an order dictating the inclusion of league funds in government budgets, he said.
“It gives rise to the suspicion that the committee has used false data to accuse the KMT and eliminate other organizations,” Chiu said.
The committee’s hearing was ended without any consensus over the status of the league and its assets, and further investigation is needed to determine the link between the league and the KMT.
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