The balance of a relief fund established in 1961 by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to tackle hunger in China would be confiscated as national property, the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee said on Sunday.
By the time the fund was closed in 2002, it had amassed NT$34.25 million (US$1.14 million at the current exchange rate) from domestic donations and US$750,000 from foreign donations, the committee said.
The money was put into an account at the central bank held by the Chinese Association for Relief and Ensuing Services, but the domestic donations were in 2004 transferred to an account at Land Bank of Taiwan, it said.
The committee said that it has asked the association to return the money to the central government.
“Today China is in a state of disaster... I hope that everyone can donate foodstuffs and give NT$1 each, so that through everyone’s great effort we can save our dying compatriots in the mainland,” the committee quoted Chiang as saying in a January 1961 speech.
Officials told a legislative session the following month that they would look into ways for each government department to assist fundraising efforts, the committee said.
In 1962, Chiang ordered that the account opened by the association should not be touched until NT$10 million was gathered, and that the funds should be left until it was determined that China was in a state of emergency, it said.
The association contravened this stipulation when it moved the funds to Land Bank of Taiwan and when the foreign donations, totaling NT$20.46 million, were transferred two years later, it added.
The association was entrusted by the government to collect the donations, but it did not have any rights to the funds, the committee said.
The committee said that it is to hold a hearing today to address the questions of whether the association was affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and whether its NT$1.37 billion in assets were inappropriately acquired.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
RSS