The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has refused to pay Cabinet-ordered compensation of NT$864.88 million (US$28.43 million) for selling properties appropriated from the Japanese colonial government, with the party saying that the properties were legally acquired and that it would appeal the order.
The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee on June 15 ordered the KMT to pay for 458 properties appropriated from the former Japanese government, which were later sold or expropriated.
The payment was due yesterday and failure to meet the deadline could result in the freezing of assets and detention of the KMT chairperson, who acts as the party’s legal representative.
Photo: CNA
The KMT yesterday said it would launch an administrative suit against the committee’s “illegal order.”
The former Japanese properties were transferred to the KMT to compensate the party for its wartime expenses during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the party said.
The transfer was approved by a high-level decisionmaking body joined by top government and military officials and KMT dignitaries during the post-war period, and therefore the transferred properties were not ill-gotten, it said.
The KMT rejected the committee’s claim that the property transfer was made in violation of the principles of democracy and rule of law and beyond the authority of a political party, saying the transfer was completely legal.
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) stipulates that a compensation order can only be given in cases where an ill-gotten property has been transferred to a third party and cannot be recovered.
The committee gave the order without first investigating the status of the properties in question, the KMT said.
Meanwhile, the committee said it would ask the Administrative Enforcement Agency to enforce the payment.
“The KMT has little cash at hand and its legal income cannot be the target of enforcement actions, so it should be the party’s real estate that is subjected to enforcement,” committee spokeswoman Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳) said.
The agency would follow due process and enforcement would not be affected unless the KMT requests a stay of execution to halt the committee’s order, but the party did not take any such action, Shih said.
Former Japanese properties should be national properties and historical data have shown how the KMT appropriated such properties, she added.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS