Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over its assets, saying the KMT administration had secretly sold its ill-gotten assets, pocketed substantial commissions from the transactions and used the profits to heavily subsidize the party’s election campaigns, spawning grave public grievance in the country.
Accompanied by lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and representatives from the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan, the Rotary Club and the Taiwan Junior Chamber, Su made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei, titled “Giving vent to fury” (火大找出路), which called on more than 1,000 civil groups to hit the streets along with the party in a planned mass demonstration in Taipei against President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
The rally, which is set to begin at 3pm on Jan. 13 at the intersection of Renai Road and Guangfu S Road, will be the last leg of the DPP’s one-month Fury (火大) campaign against what it says is the Ma administration’s poor governance.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“The KMT has not only liquidated its unjustly solicited assets in secrecy, but has also received huge commissions from the sales. While the party has yet to reduce its assets to zero [as promised by Ma in his capacity as KMT chairman,] it has been using the stolen assets to subsidize election campaigns,” Su said.
Su’s criticism of the KMT came after a recent court ruling involving Hsinyutai Co, a spin-off of the KMT’s investment company — Central Investment Holding Co — which sued the buyers of Central Motion Pictures Corp (CMPC) for NT$2.5 billion (US$85.9 million) for breach of contract.
According to the ruling, handed down on Nov. 30, the Central Investment Holding Co had stipulated in the sales contract of the CMPC with Lor Yu-chen (羅玉珍) and Chuang Wan-chun (莊婉均) that the latter helped the holding company auction off several of its assets with an estimated value of NT$9.8 billion and then paid it a sum of the profits after deducting taxes and transaction fees if they were sold higher than a certain price.
The pair were sued for failing to liquidate such properties within a stipulated period and thus incurring financial damage to the holding company.
Turning to the soaring prices caused by the Ma administration’s plan to increase fuel prices and electricity rates, Su said last year had been a year of suffering and worries under the Ma administration.
Su said public fear over the possible bankruptcy of the Labor Insurance Fund by 2024 had resulted in a spike in the number of insurers applying for lump-sum payments in October and November last year, totaling more than NT$80 billion.
However, the Ma administration still raised premium rates for the fund on Tuesday and let the second-generation National Health Insurance system take effect on the same day, Su said.
Echoing Su’s opinions, Medical Professional Alliance in Taichung secretary-general Gao Chia-chun (高嘉君) said the number of people seeking self-pay treatments was on the rise, mainly because they could no longer afford their health insurance premiums.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS