The Taipei High Administrative Court yesterday ruled against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in two lawsuits initiated by the Cabinet’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee over three entities in Taipei with a combined worth of NT$16.38 billion (US$589.19 million at the current exchange rate).
The court’s decision deemed that two investment firms — Central Investment Co (中央投資公司) and Hsinyutai Co (欣裕台), worth a combined NT$15.6 billion — and one residential building — Daxiao Building (大孝大樓), worth NT$782 million — had been obtained by the KMT through illegal means.
The court ruled that the properties were ill-gotten party assets and prohibited the KMT from disposing of or transferring them, while company shares and the value of the properties are to be transferred to the state.
The KMT’s attorney Chang Shao-teng (張少騰) said that the party would likely appeal the decision.
In 2016, the committee, which was then headed by Wellington Koo (顧立雄), issued an administrative injunction through a disposition letter that the KMT needed to transfer all shareholding rights to the government.
A committee investigation found that the KMT had used illegally obtained assets to start the KMT-affiliated investment firms.
The KMT had contravened the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例), which had been enacted to ensure fair competition among political parties and to improve the nation’s democratic system, the committee said.
The probe found that the KMT had owned 100 percent of Central Investment since its founding in 1971 and had spun off Hsinyutai Co in 2010 with the intent of separating disputed party properties from those that could be privatized, although KMT officials continued to own and manage both companies.
“In an era when there was no distinction between the party and the state, half of the KMT’s revenue came from state subsidies, while its affiliated organizations provided about 20 percent, and it had some other sources of income,” Koo said at the time.
To block the committee’s injunction, KMT officials filed the litigation at the Taipei High Administrative Court.
The party also filed for a constitutional interpretation on the case. In August last year, the Council of Grand Justices issued Interpretation No. 793, which ruled in favor of the committee and allowed the case to proceed.
In May 2019, the committee issued an injunction that the KMT needed to transfer the value of the Daxiao Building, which is on Aikuo E Road, to the government.
An investigation found that the property had been public housing before the KMT took it over in 1985, and that the building was sold to the KMT-owned Kuanghua Investment Co (光華投資) for NT$1.3 billion in 2002, before being sold to Yuanta Group (元大集團) in 2010.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
RSS