Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
As part of the events celebrating the one-year anniversary of Ma's inauguration next week, the KMT will present a special report on Aug. 23 on the total value of its assets and how they have been handled under different chairmen dating back to the Chiang Kai-shek (
According to a story in the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday, the KMT once carried as much as NT$50 billion in debt because of improper investments made when Lee served as party chairman from 1988 to 2000.
Lee responds
At a gathering with the press yesterday in Kaohsiung, Lee denied the report's claim.
Lee said the KMT was in its heyday and was at its richest when he was chairman.
"I ordered that all the party's assets be compiled and found that the KMT had a total of about NT$100 billion in assets," Lee said in response to press queries.
Ma declined to comment on the matter, but promised yesterday that the KMT would outline to the public its party asset issue in details in two weeks.
KMT Deputy Secretary-General Chang Che-chen (張哲琛) and Lee Yung-ran (李永然), a lawyer who has been hired by the party to deal with the issue, will explain the KMT's handling of its assets in both legal and practical terms, Ma said.
The KMT amassed a vast empire of banks, investment companies, petrochemical firms and media outlets during its autocratic rule.
Amid accusations that the party acquired its assets illegally, the KMT has sold many of them, while former party chairman Lien Chan (
The party stepped up divestment of assets under Ma's leadership to ease its growing financial burden, selling three media outlets last December and its old headquarters in March.
In response to the government's demand for the party to return the assets, Ma said that it would only return "illegally acquired" assets and hasn't returned any assets to the government in the wake of the recent sales.
In other developments, Ma yesterday lashed out at President Chen Shui-bian's (
"Will people stop thinking that he is not corrupt if he changes the airport's name and criticize Ma Ying-jeou?" Ma said.
Chen on Saturday spoke of how the issue of a "Taiwanese identity" had created numerous political conflicts and that many in Taiwan held unrealistic fantasies about China. He also suggested that CKS airport be called Taipei Airport.
"President Chen is good at tossing out new topics, but it's useless to shift the focus now and make people believe that he is innocent and clean," Ma said.
Ho Min-hao (
Ho said he hoped this time the president meant what he said.
If Chen were to keep his promise, people would stand behind him, Ho said.
He said that Chen would have to overcome huge pressure from the US and China if he were to push for a new name and a new constitution for Taiwan.
However, if he eats his words yet again, he will lose credibility with the people altogether, Ho said.
Additional reporting by Jewel Huang and CNA
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