President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday vowed to ask the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to return at least NT$190 billion after he wins a second term, saying that money stolen by the party belongs to all the people of Taiwan.
"According to reports from the Control Yuan, over the past three years the KMT has sold assets, which are worth over NT$190 billion -- NT$170 billion by selling stocks and NT$20 billion through real-estate sales," he said.
"The reports tell us that the KMT is the wealthiest political party in the world and it has the richest presidential candidate," Chen said. "We must ask the party why it has so many assets and where that money has gone."
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"This is a mission to ask for justice for all the people of Taiwan," he said.
At a rally in Hualien County yesterday, Chen defended moves by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to ask the KMT to return its assets stolen from the government during its decades in power.
He accused the KMT of deceiving the people during the presidential election campaign four years ago when it said it would deal with the issue. He said four years have passed without the KMT doing anything about its stolen assets and with the party using its power in the legislature to block efforts to seek justice.
This gave the KMT time to sell off the property, Chen said. The party has sold NT$190 billion of assets over the past four years -- enough to build two Su-Hua Highways; to allow a freeze in public health insurance premiums for 31 years; to enable no increase in university education fees for 62 years or to enable children of lower income households to receive education at no charge, Chen said.
"During the presidential election four years ago, they promised to return [the assets]," Chen said, "but they have returned nothing."
"They have done nothing, yet they hinder other people from doing anything about it. Meanwhile, they sell party assets and put the money into private pockets," Chen said.
Chen said the DPP has already proposed legislation to regulate the ill-gotten gains of political parties.
But the bill has been stalled for two years because of the opposition's control of the legislature.
"In not letting the bill pass, they have had the opportunity to sell off party assets," Chen said.
"As long as the Chen-Lu ticket succeeds in winning a second term, we will be able to complete the legislation. They will not be able to stop us," he said.
Chen also called the presidential campaign a battle over cross-strait affairs, saying his real opponent is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"The presidential election right now is not just a campaign between the ruling Chen-Lu ticket and the opposition Lien-Soong ticket," Chen said. "It has become a crucial battle between the people of Taiwan and the Chinese Communist Party that Taiwan cannot lose."
Chen said the CCP's Taiwan task force reached a resolution on Dec. 2 to attack the DPP presidential campaign ticket through the media, Internet and China-based Taiwanese businesspeople.
"Its goal is clear -- to keep the Chen-Lu ticket from winning re-election -- and its reason is simple -- the CCP opposes Taiwan's democracy and reform," Chen said.
He added that the nation's president must be elected by all the people of Taiwan, "not be assigned or appointed by Beijing."
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by