The Ministry of the Interior on Thursday said it would ask the Constitutional Court to dissolve the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP).
The ministry in a statement said that its Political Party Review Committee approved a resolution to seek the dissolution of the New Taipei City-based CUPP with a required two-thirds vote after inviting the party’s leadership to make a statement in its defense.
The ministry said that the party is known to be involved in organized crime, and has core members who have “repeatedly” contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法), the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and election laws, thus “endangering national security, social stability and fair elections.”
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
While the ministry “respects” the political stances of the CUPP, it “cannot accept” repeated national security breaches and acts of violence by party members, the statement said.
The CUPP’s “links to foreign forces” and “use of a political party name as a cover for organized crime,” among other things, contravene the Constitution and laws, even if the party does not hold any seats in the legislature, or in any city or county councils, it said.
Under the Constitution authorities can request the dissolution of a political party whose “goals or activities endanger the existence of the Republic of China or the nation’s free and democratic constitutional order,” the ministry said.
The ministry acknowledged that its request might be complicated by an ongoing political dispute over Constitutional Court vacancies and a reform bill, which has left the court’s operations in a cloud of uncertainty.
A request to disband the CUPP would be submitted as soon as the court’s situation permits, the ministry said.
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