Up to 50 administrative lawsuits that had been filed against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regarding its ill-gotten assets are proceeding slowly, with some pending constitutional interpretations, Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee Chairman Lin Feng-jeng (林峯正) said yesterday.
Several lawsuits were suspended after some of the entities that had been appealed applied to halt the lawsuits on grounds that they lacked legitimacy or that their execution might cause irreparable damage, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said.
The Administrative Appeals Act (行政訴訟法) stipulates that cases related to the public’s welfare should continue despite such applications, Kuan said, accusing judges of considering ill-gotten party assets as being “irrelevant to the public’s welfare.”
Kuan made the remarks at the Legislative Yuan, where the committee briefed lawmakers about its investigation, handling and seizure of ill-gotten party assets.
Lin said that in Germany, courts would rule in favor of the appealer when a case of ill-gotten party assets is associated to a great extent with the public’s welfare, adding that administrative lawsuits filed against the KMT are not unconstitutional.
“We hope the grand justices will give us an answer as soon as possible,” he said.
The committee has identified nine organizations as KMT affiliates: Central Investment Co (中央投資), Hsinyutai Co (欣裕台), the China Youth Corps (救國團), the National Women’s League (婦聯會), Central Motion Picture Corp (中影), Broadcasting Corp of China (中廣), the Mintsu Foundation (民族基金會), the Minchuan Foundation (民權基金會) and the National Development Foundation (國家發展基金會), Lin said.
Regarding the scope of assets that should be seized, statistics indicate that the KMT should transfer its holdings in Central Investment and Hsinyutai — worth NT$27.2 billion (US$894.6 million) — to state ownership, while assets belonging to the National Women’s League that should be nationalized include NT$37.5 billion in cash, stock holdings with a market value of NT$600 million, and land and buildings that cover 2,600m2, Lin said.
Land and buildings that should be transferred by Broadcasting Corp of China cover about 100,000m2 and 699m2 respectively, in addition to NT$7.731 billion for the KMT’s earnings from the sale of the plot of land where the luxury residential complex The Palace (帝寶) stands in Taipei, Lin said.
Buildings sold by the KMT, including one housing its Central Committee’s former office and the Da Hsiao Building (大孝大樓) in Taipei need to be seized as well, Lin said, adding that they have a combined worth of NT$2.785 billion.
In total, the party should transfer land and buildings covering about 112,000m2, as well as assets valued at NT$76 billion, to state ownership, he said.
However, the actual amount seized is only NT$12 million, with another NT$53.2 million lodged in court, he added.
The Executive Yuan has yet to establish a special fund to decide how to utilize the seized money, Lin said.
The administrative lawsuits include three cases pending constitutional interpretations — two involving Central Investment and the other the National Women’s League — Lin said.
It is unacceptable that courts have ignored the public benefit and grand justices have postponed constitutional interpretations since the committee’s founding in 2016, causing only a fraction of the KMT’s assets to be seized, Kuan said.
The committee should take a more hardline stance against the Council of Grand Justices to expedite the legal process, she added.
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